


An Unbreakable Will

by Yavinus



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games), Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 | Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World (Anime)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Blood and Gore, Character Death, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Dark Fantasy, Eventual Romance, Fluff and Angst, Hope vs. Despair, Horror, Humanization/Gijinka (from Hollow Knight's Universe), Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Original Character(s), Psychological Trauma, Suffering, The Knight/Ghost has a voice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:48:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 30,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24522613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yavinus/pseuds/Yavinus
Summary: The Ghost, the Vessel that managed to overcome many challenges, many trials and gained a power beoynd their own imagination, defeated the Radiance once and for all but also accepting that it requiered their sacrfice for doing so and they gladly embraced their own death, knowing they saved what was left of Hallownest or even the rest of their world from the fury of the goddess.Or so they thought.There was something else, the power and the love of a Witch that didn't wanted them to die. She loved the Vessel so much that she not only saved them, but changed them into more grown-up form and carried them into an unknown world of secret dangers.Now, Ghost, lost and confuse in this alien world, has to carefully navigate and protect their new friends from harm as dangerous conspiracies and shady political manuevers are developing in the background.As such, Ghost must posses an Unbreakable WIll if they want to survive the mind shattering deaths and horrors that awaits them...and the many secrets that they have to uncover from this new world and even themselves.
Comments: 14
Kudos: 78





	1. A new beginning for a Ghost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ghost is forcibly transported to another world by the mad love of a Witch

It was finally over.

Ghost, the Vessel that managed to defeat the Radiance and contain her into the Void for eternity, felt their own very being been drag on into the Abyss, to never return.

They were satisfied, after all this time, they freed their greater Sibling from their suffering. The infection was no more, and the survivors would be in peace.

Ghost was satisfied with this conclusion, no that they didn’t lament for their own death or that it wished to share more moments with their closed ones, including their half-sister. But at least there would be a chance to live a tranquil life.

The Vessel closed their eyes and prepared themselves to drift into the eternal slumber.

Yet, another force didn’t want Ghost to go away. Her love for the Vessel was greater than anything from this world or the other were she came from. A fascination and caring for the Vessel that went into the territory that could only be describe as madness.

Even if they didn’t saw it, Ghost could feel a strange presence coming to them, it was definitely something that didn’t came from the Abyss nor it wasn’t the Goddess trying to kill them in a last ditch effort to destroy her hated enemy.

It felt like a strange ethereal hand caressing them in strange ways, Ghost could feel that the _thing_ was doing something to them. It touched their throat, their muscles, their bones, their horns, and even some other parts that they could describe very well without feeling shame.

The Vessel felt that somewhat, that “hand” was somehow trying to find the part of their being that were “restricted” by their design by that Pale Wyrm. But it was too intrusive for Ghost’s own good, and wanted to take that thing apart but they didn’t had the strength for that, so they hold themselves and just waited for the thing to end with whatever it wanted to do.

When the hand ended with its work, the Vessel felt how it caressed its face in a show of affection without understanding why it did what it did but Ghost just wanted to sleep and to be all over.

The hand retired itself into the ether and the Vessel felt relief, and try to forget about that awkward experience. Yet, something was bothering their eyelids. Some sort of light was bathing Ghost entire being.

They could felt their own feet on the ground, and after a few seconds, they heard the voices of multiple people in their surroundings.

In fact, as Ghost realized with great surprise, they could feel the heat and the air filling their lungs, even if some moments ago they felt that its shell broke apart in their effort to defeat the Radiance.

Slowly, being afraid in what going to happen next, they opened their eyes.

What Ghost saw next left them in complete surprise and awe.

There were many people walking on the plaza, attending to their own personal business. That wasn’t abnormal for the Vessel. The abnormal thing was the place and the people in it itself.

First it was the great light above, in other circumstances it would have scared them and draw their nail in defiance, but deep within them, they knew that it wasn’t a form that the goddess that destroyed the kingdom of Hallownest.

And the people on the streets, they were the strangest bugs that the Vessel ever saw. Some looked like the Bugs Ghost knew back then, to a certain degree. They had hair, but all of them lacked hard shells, only soft shells as the only hard protections Ghost saw were metal armor, and nobody seemed to have any kind of wings or had their arms ended in claws, all of them had fingers. And the truly weird ones were far more bizarre that even the strangest Bugs the Vessel ever saw. While bodies covered in fur wasn’t a rarity in Hallownest, many of these had triangular antennas and prehensile limbs covered in fur and they were far more of them than in the dead kingdom.

There also the strange people that it seemed to possess a hard shell but rather than having long segments covering the back of their bodies, they seemed to have strange triangular formations covering them in a strange patterns, and many of them had a similar prehensile limb that the ones covered in fur, but thicker and heavier.

If it wasn’t the fact that Ghost felt the ground below them, the heat from the light above and the sounds that they heard, the victorious Vessel would have seriously considered that they truly lost their sanity.

Which it wasn’t.

 _“This isn’t Hallownest,”_ the Vessel thought, surely a blasphemous action in the eyes of the Pale King. _“And neither any other place I ever travelled or explore, there aren’t any normal Bugs and never heard of such a peculiar place or people, so the only explanation is that…”_

It was surely crazy and absolutely something that even Zote would have considered silly.

But the lost and confused Vessel couldn’t deny it anymore.

Somehow

Somewhat

Ghost had ended up definitely, totally, and surely in another world. Without any means to come back.

And the Vessel didn’t have any kind of clue or idea what to do next.


	2. A Ghost in another world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ghost finds themselves encountering strange people in this strange world...and also discovers their new strange and dark ability.

“What I’m doing to do now that I don’t have any kind of knowledge of how things work here,” Ghost pondered while they walked on the streets without direction. “I somewhat understand what they are talking, but I can’t read any written words here”

And while they were trying to form a plan for the future, they also realized another strange thing about them.

They had somehow grown in stature, if only at the same height that their half-sister and the one that they called the Broken Vessel or the Lost Kin.

Which was something that surprised them the most, since they would never grow in a physical sense because of their own peculiar nature in the long time of their existence. Only the Hollow Knight of all the Vessels managed to do it completely thought means that were unknown for the Ghost.

At least they still had most of their possession before the moment of their supposed death. Their trusted old nail, how had become a great weapon thanks to the Nailsmith, was thankfully still in their back as their cloak covered the blade, only showing the handle for most people.

They also had the mantis claws, their ragged clothes, most of their charms and map supplies. The only thing they didn’t have was the Grimmchild charm. But that was a given, after all, the new Grimm had to do their duties as the representative of the Nightmare Heart and disappeared before Ghost delivered the final blow against the vengeful goddess. And with that Ghost realized something.

They were truly alone in this strange unknown world.

No that it wasn’t something that they didn’t ever faced before, but the after such a long journey to release the kingdom of Hallownest from its stasis and meeting so many people, the Vessel began to miss some company already.

But there was nothing more to do now, and they couldn’t lament for too much. The only thing they could do was to walk forward and too see how thing would develop, hopefully for the better.

While Ghost was walking through the very populated city, they tried to hear some of the casual conversations from the strange inhabitants. While the repeated words “human” and “demi-human” “dragon” didn’t help the Vessel in understanding their new situation, at least there was one that helped at least a little.

The kingdom of Lugnica. And the capital of the same name, the place were Ghost was now wandering aimlessly.

At least there was some progress.

And it those comments of clarity of their own place in this new world, they noted that many people gave them a passing look of curiosity. Maybe it was because of their strange soft shell. They would deny that the extremely pale look of their shell, whit the same colour as bone was something that even in their own original world was strange enough, Ghost didn’t saw nothing special in comparison with the strange inhabitants of the city.

The Vessel was about to try and get more information when suddenly someone grabbed them from behind from their shoulders. When Ghost moved their head to confront the person or whoever was. Their eyes were watching one of the strange people with pure soft shell and strange hair colour, in this case it yellow like the colour of honey. His eyes were dazed and they noted that it seemed like he didn’t had enough sleep and his breath was short and agitated, and the Vessel noted that he had the stench of alcohol all over him.

“You…you were there…” he said with a raspy voice. “In my dreams, you were…”

Some people stopped to see the strange scene developing there. Ghost tried to get free in a non-violent way from the man that surely had too many drinks last night. But even if he was drunkard, he was still holding his position with surprising strength.

“You…you…” the man said, while his voice was raising with every word, calling the attention of more people. “You…were there…monster!”

At this point his holding over the Vessel was getting from intruding to plainly violent, his hands becoming as claws in their objective in not getting the Vessel go.

“Monster! I tell you, monster! What are you planning, abomination” at this point his screams showed both hatred and fear towards the confused, and slightly scared Vessel, that didn’t want to harm the mad man, but couldn’t do without making more of an scene if they wanted to get away from him.

“You will kill us all! You will be the unholy mate of the Witch! You will spawn unspeakable horrors into this world…YOU!”

“Leave me alone!” another voice shouted. It was far louder, far more powerful that the one from the man in from of Ghost, overcoming the voices of the crowd.

There was silence for a moment, and the Vessel pondered were did that voice came from. The scream was too close from Ghost and the drunkard to simply be someone that was behind them which there as only one conclusion.

It was from Ghost themselves.

In an involuntary move, they covered their mouth with their hands in total surprise, not knowing what to do with the sudden revelation.

A voice, they had a voice, and they used for the first time in the most unexpected way and in the most unusual situation that they could ever imagine.

A voice, something that they always wished but never could obtain because of their design and purpose, the only part of all the Vessels that truly worked as intended.

“No voice to cry suffering,” Ghost though in wonder and with a certain hint of sarcasm. “Father would truly furious if he saw me like this”

But before they could do anything for the drunkard that was left paralysed and immobile as stone, another voice, one far calmer cut the silence away.

“Good sir, I will politely excuse myself for this, but you need to let go of the boy” the calm and controlled voiced behind Ghost’s harasser was something only the Vessel heard in those expert in combat but kind in heart. “Maybe excessive drinking clouded your mind last night, I would recommend you to go home and rest”

And just like that, the drunkard let it go of Ghost and ran away in fear.

When the Vessel raised their head to see the source of the voice that saved Ghost of a very awkward situation, they saw one of the “pure soft shells” (as the lost Vessel was referring to that particular type of people), with red hair like fire and blue eyes like the water looking at them.

“Are you alright?” the kind man said as he tried to see if the Vessel was wounded. The individual didn’t seem to have bad intentions and his words and actions were full of pure sincerity. It remind them somehow of Quirrel, one of the few people that Ghost made close friends in that ruined kingdom.

Ghost didn’t know how to respond, their scream from before was purely by instinct, and while they tried to understand how they would managed to speak the same language as those strange people, they focused in trying to talk to that kind person in front of them out of gratitude.

“T…Thank…you…,” the first words came out harder than expected. “…kind…sir”

The redhead looked at the Vessel with curiosity. “You seem to be a visitor of distant lands by the looks of it, isn’t?” he said in a calm and patient manner, trying not to speak in a fast way. “Excuse me for my rudeness, but right now the capital of Lugnica isn’t as peaceful as is normally”

“Is…that…so?” the Ghost responded slowly, trying to follow the flow of the conversation. “If it is…dangerous…don’t…worry about…”

The Vessel pointed their nail in their back, not wanting to reveal the weapon in the middle of a busy street.

“It seems that you yourself have the means to defend yourself, isn’t?” the red haired man said while looking at the handle with curiosity. He himself had a nail in his hips, being occult in its sheath. “Right now I’m on guard duty and you seem to be lost, I could gladly help you in anything you want”

Ghost was a little aback from that proposition, not that they distrusted the person in front of them, but they were worried to attract any more attention than necessary, but in the other hand, a willing person to guide them in these unknown territories was something that it could greatly help the Vessel.

“I…don’t…want…to…” Ghost tried to elaborate in a way that sounded polite with their too new skill of talking. “…be…nuisance…I’m…new here….newcomer…from lands...far beyond…”

“Far beyond the Cascade?” the guard said with a hint of surprise.

Ghost didn’t said anything, as they didn’t know what that meant to be.

“Sorry…but…it would be…hard…to…describe…” Ghost said, trying not to sound like the drunken madman from before. “…you…can…tell…were…to…find…a…job…how…to…gain…currency”

The gentle guard took a moment in thinking in something.

“Well…I’m not that well versed in the skills on finding a job, maybe you could try in the fruit markets, maybe you could try as a helper first.” the red haired person say while pointing Ghost into the direction of the place he mentioned “But I can’t assure if you are going to be successful in that”

The Vessel nodded in acknowledgement, as they didn’t think that they could get even a simple job easily considering their circumstances and lack of the general knowledge of the world, they even couldn’t read the symbols that many people used daily.

“Ah…sorry about my lack of manners.” The guard said while making a slight bow towards the Vessel. “My name is Reinhard, a simple knight of Lugnica.”

The Vessel didn’t know how to respond to that simple gesture, after all, they didn’t have a proper name since the moment of their birth, as the Pale King didn’t made them in what they were as actual individuals, but as living prisons, and a name was deemed not only unnecessary, but potentially dangerous.

Nicknames were the only thing that the Vessel was called many times.

“Ghost, simply call me Ghost.” The Vessel said with assurance. It was the way Hornet called them in their encounters, and the Vessel consider it the most fitting.

Reinhard blinked a couple of times before he talked.

“That’s certainly a curios, but somewhat befitting name.” he pondered, maybe assuming that Ghost was named like that because of their very striking soft shell color. And while that reasoning wasn’t too far away, the real truth behind it was far more sinister and tragic than he, or even the rest of the inhabitants of that world could ever possibly imagine.

“It…is…” Ghost said while they prepared to part ways. “Thank…you…for…your…help…it…was nice…of…you…”

“It was nice for me to meet such a curious person like you.” Reinhard said with a smile. “I hope you good luck in your future endeavours”

As the Vessel went towards the market, the guard keep his eyes in the strange individual that, unknown for him, came from another world so far different from his own, that a mere description of it would make even the kind hearted knight to consider it to be utter madness.

Even he, Reinhard van Astrea, the great Sword Saint of Lugnica, one of the most powerful warriors in the country, or even the entire world (even if he didn't like to boast it in front of other people), was somewhat curios about the look of that demi-human foreigner of pale skin like the color of bone.

“Something tells me that strange fellow could be somewhat related to the recent events in this country” Reinhard thought while walking again and resuming his duties as a guard. “Or simply is just a wanderer trying to find a place in the world, lost and scared by the look of their eyes”

After the death of the royal family and the coming of the Royal Election, Reinhard and the rest of the knights and the royal council were looking for the last candidate yet to come. If the nation were to survive the current crisis, a new monarch should rise to the throne and lead Lugnica into prosperity, otherwise the neighbour countries see their current state as the opportunity for less than savoury actions towards it.

Despite the happy faces and casual conversations in the streets, things soon would take into a far less peaceful turn in the coming days

“I hope things don’t get far worse that I imagine…”

As for Ghost, they simply tried to see if they could get any kind of job to gain some money. It’s not that it wasn’t too worry about food and a place to sleep, Ghost could go for a lot of time without eating or drinking, only the minimum necessary from time to time, mainly thanks of their unique bloodline.

Being part Wyrm, Root, and Void itself help the Vessel to obtain sustenance from the ambience itself in the form of physical nutrients and ethereal energy invisible to the naked eye. But even then, they would need to eat at some moment, and sleeping at the street just like that would attract too much attention to themselves. So, the first part of their “grand plan” was to work in some market, know the locals a little more, get enough money to live at the countryside and maybe try to learn the written language of this world in the process.

After that…Ghost didn’t know what more to do. In their own mind (a mind that was thinking, another blasphemy in the eyes of the King of Hallownest), the moment they defeated the Radiance and avenge their Siblings, it was the moment Ghost’s story should have come to an end.

That strange force or power that made their body grow in size and somehow carry them into this world was something of a mystery still, whatever intentions towards, good or ill, didn’t manifested itself yet, so until that time, Ghost would have to push that aside.

While walking the in the market place, the Vessel attention was attracted by a post market with striking red fruits in it. The vendor, a muscular with pink soft shell and green hair was looking at them with curiosity.

“Hey, do you want some ringas? They are a good price and of great quality” the green haired man said while showing one of the red fruits “By the look of your eyes, it seems you are pretty interested”

“Sorry…I…was looking…for a…job…no…money” said Ghost with a hint a shame in their voice. “Do you…offer…a job?”

The fruit vendor took the twig of his mouth and left a sigh in frustration.

“Look buddy, I understand your troubles, but right now I can’t afford an assistant” he drily declared while trying to hold his patient. “Maybe you could try with others or even with me later in a month or two if I need it”

“Thank…you…sir…” Ghost simply said.

“Hey, I know that feel, life is like that you know” the vendor said while accommodating himself in his chair. “Better luck next time”

And with that, Ghost walked aimlessly asking two or three vendors, always giving similar answers, with one being a little ruder than the others as he said “looking too much like the Witch of Envy, I don’t want scare away potential customers, go away and don’t ask me again”

And now, the Ghost was in an alley, resting from their aimless wandering. To entertain themselves, they began to map the places they explored using their mapping tools from that couple back in Dirthmouth.

Mapping became like hobby for them, as Ghost was an innate wanderer, never in the same place for a long time. Thought the idea of, unwillingly, wandering into another world was not an idea that ever crossed in their mind.

While they were trying to relax, they sensed three people approaching them, but the Vessel ignored them while working in the map, not until the three persons were close enough.

“Hey buddy, don’t do anything, give us everything you have and we would not hurt you”

Ghost raised their eyes from the map and saw three soft shelled people. One was very large and muscular, with a tough looking face. The other was very small with a strange, silly haircut and the one that looked like the leader of the group had a weird hair color, a mean looking face and a long tongue coming from his mouth.

“Yeah, give your stuff before we kick your sorry ass!” the small one said, trying to give their most intimidating face.

“It would be for the best, you know” the leader said while

And Ghost promptly ignore them and continued charting their map.

There was a pregnant pause before the thugs realized what just happen.

“Hey, don’t ignore us!” the small one said while the tall one was clenching his fist.

The leader simply smiled in a very wicked way, and draw his two knifes with clearly not very good intentions in mind.

“Well, you asked for it buddy”

The Vessel simply looked at them again. While the sigh could have been pretty intimidating for most civilians, Ghost had challenged far stronger, skilful and terrifying enemies. They bet that if the trio in front of them saw just a little of Deepnest, they would have immediately empty their bowels and run away from that dreadful place.

Not that Ghost would blame for it.

“Hey, stop ignoring us or we are going to make you regret to ever been born in this world!” the small barked again, truly showcasing who was the loudest one in the group.

Ghost simply raised an eyebrow, if only they knew that they have never born in this world in the first place. And the Vessel released their ever first sigh in their life, much to the exasperation of the thugs.

“Your choice then” the leader said and with a single step he charged forward towards Ghost.

Thanks to their experience, the Vessel realized that, despite the skilful way the one with blue hair handled his weapon, it was just for show and to intimated defenceless victims rather with the intention of harming someone else.

Of course, with that in mind, and not wanting to attract too much attention.

Ghost, with a single skilful movement, they draw their nail with the velocity of the bling of an eye, and cut the two blades of the leader easily. Having being remade with Pale Ore, it made it far sharper than a normal blade.

The fragments landed on the floor and the three seemed to contain their breath in disbelief.

“What…what the hell!?” the small one was the first to respond.

“H…hey…this isn’t a joke.” the tough looking one trembled in fear, and then he looked at his partner. “You told us that he looked like an easy target you dumbass!”

“What did I know!? The weirdo here was probably a foreigner and didn’t know how to navigate in the city!”

Meanwhile, while the two were having their argument, the leader was still fixed in the same position as before, with sweat in his soft shell and Ghost still holding their nail, waiting of his next move.

“This...look bad!” the small one said. “Don’t stand there and just go!”

And Ghost saw that the trio already gave up, although for some reason the sudden move of their arm made it felt a little sore by the effort. Some sort of side effect because of their sudden growth?

The Vessel ignored the pain, and withdraw their nail while Ghost gave their back to the thugs.

And it was a mistake.

The leader of the trio, not wanting to get away with empty hands after such a risk, used his skills in pickpocket, a skill far more developed in fighting, and stole the first thing his hands grab on.

Ghost only had a fraction of a second to react and saw the leader running with his friends with a charm in his hands. More precisely the Wayward Compass.

While the Wayward Compass was a simple charm, but the most useful one the Vessel ever used. And the emotional connection of that particular charm to the people in Dirtmouth.

Now it was personal.

Ghost jumped towards the trio, their face going from relief in getting away in their daring move, to one of absolute fear.

Of course the Vessel wouldn’t kill them. That was too much.

But they would simply beat the thugs like a certain “banker” that deceived Ghost, it would an unforgivable lesson.

“Get out of my way!”

But another thing happen at the same time. While in the air, another person was running in the same alleyway, and jumped with gracefulness and speed.

It would have a great a graceful jump from whatever the other person was running from. But there one problem.

Both Ghost and the newcomer were in the air, going to the same direction, and both couldn’t change their trajectory on time.

In short, they both collide in mid-air, as Ghost and the other person lost the air from their lungs on impact.

The trio simply watched in bewilderment on their insane luck and promptly run away with their prize.

“You…” the other person said while trying to recover. “You idiot! You almost kill me!”

The Vessel, while ignoring their growing pain, looked at the person in front of them.

It was another of those complete soft shelled people, a young girl with blonde hair and red eyes, and strange clothes in her. In other circumstances, Ghost would have considered kind of cute. But know the only thing they cared about was recovering the stolen charm.

“I don’t know who are you and I would like some answers, but right now the girl after me is coming to this way…” the girl said while standing up with great agility. “So get lost!”

And with that, she jumped away to the rooftops.

Ghost mood now was from somewhat somber, to annoyed by the recent events. For not saying that their pain was not going away despite their body witnessing far worse damage.

And now it was alone again, with something precious took away from them. They prepared to chase after the trio, but before they could even began to move their legs, a sharp pain invaded Ghost’s entire body, falling to the ground.

They wanted to curse their sudden predicament, as their body convulsed in sudden, short spasms.

Ghost couldn’t even focus to use soul to calm the pain. And like that, they had to endure in humiliation.

“Are you alright?” Ghost heard another voice, a feminine one different from that strange blonde girl, it was soft with a melodic tone in it. “Are you hurt?”

The Vessel opened their eyes and for a moment they forgot about their pain. Two purple eyes were looking at them with genuine worry, her white hair and pale skin remind Ghost of their many siblings and their half-sister. However the paleness of her skin wasn’t as extreme as Ghost’s or any other of the vessels. For not saying that certain facial features like the black eyes and androgynous appearance of the Vessel in front of her would have made clear that they weren’t blood related.

“…yes…I…thugs…blonde…girl…, thugs, ran away” Ghost struggled to speak. “…she…went…to…above…running through the rooftops…she was…fast…”

“Don’t move!” the mysterious girl as she touch something that the Vessel couldn’t see very well because of the pain. “Puck, can you help him?”

“Well, depending on how cooperative our poor victim here is” there was another voice that came near the girl. “Although this person right here doesn’t seem to have a fatal wound or was poisoned, so I wouldn’t too worried”

Ghost saw some sort of translucent light appear near their unexpected rescuer, there was a small creature manifesting in front of the Vessel.

In a moment, the creature materialized completely, as small sparks of blue light shoot around it in a small harmless explosion.

It was a small furry thing with a long tail and strange ears or antennas. It reminded Ghost of a miniature version of those people covered in fur.

“Puck, this is not the moment for jokes, he is clearly suffering.” The girl criticized her strange companion.

“As you order ma’am,” Puck said with a cheerful smile, clearly indicating that, despite the way his companion words, they were on good terms.

The small creature floated through some sort of esoteric way towards Ghost as Emilia did the same. Two pair of hands, one of soft shell and another covered in fur, extended near the Vessel and a soft blue light appeared at the same time.

Almost instantaneously, the pain that invaded Ghost’s body began to diminish, feeling relived from that torment. Although they felt their body sore and tired, more tired than ever in their long existence ever experienced.

And without knowing it, they passed away into sleep.

Ghost slowly opened their eyes as they felt their head resting in something soft and fluffy.

“You are awake,” they could hear the familiar voice of the worried girl as she expelled a sigh of relief. “It seemed that your body had made a lot of effort in a short period of time, is not good for you to overextend yourself too much, you will go to an early grave if you continue like that!”

Ghost didn’t say anything, trying to enjoy the strange soft bed.

“Hmm, it seems he is truly appreciating my treatment, don’t you think?” the voice of Puck resonated, very close to Ghost’s ears.

Too close.

In fact, it wasn’t that strange floating creature covered in fur, the same one that the Vessel was sleeping on.

As Ghost opened their eyes, they saw a vision that not was out of a strange dream.

Somehow, Puck went from a tiny creature not much bigger than a vengefly to something bigger than the girl close to him in the moment between their encounter and Ghost’s short sleep.

“Eh…what...,” Ghost said while standing up slowly and carefully, trying to not to make any sudden moves. “You...are…big…now”

“Well, that’s because I ordered Puck to serve as a cushion until you recover” the girl said while trying to see Ghost’s condition.

“How…did…he?” Ghost asked with curiosity.

“Puck is a higher type of spirit, as such, he can change his size to a certain extend without much problem…,” Emilia explained the same way a mother would do to her child or an older sister to her younger brother.

Ghost stared in awe towards Puck, while they weren’t totally strangers towards the existence of spirits or similar ethereal entities; the existence of spirits capable of changing size at will was a pretty novel concept, for not saying that Puck didn’t felt like one of those ghosts that the Vessel encountered in their journey through Hallownest.

“Thanks…” Ghost said slowly. “I was…in…trouble…but…thugs…took…something important…for…me”

The girl with white hair put an expression of deep concern while Puck returned to his original size.

“You too?” the kind girl said. “I would try to help you right now about your situation, but that little girl took my insignia, which I desperately need”

Ghost felt sorry for the girl in front of them, by her tone of voice, it seemed it was something of equal importance that the stolen charm. And by the little girl she was referring to, it was obviously the same one that the Vessel had the bad luck to have a very rough first meeting.

“I…can…help…you,” Ghost said without hesitation. “You helped…me…I…can…help…you”

The white haired girl was clearly taken aback by the proposition, if her expression of schock and surprise was anything to say.

“I mean, thank you…but I help you enough, and you told me about the little thief went, so you don’t have any sort of debt towards me” she said while trying to maintain her composure. “I mean, I’m thankful you are worried about me and my situation, but you too have your own stuff to worry about”

“True…but…I…believe…that,” Ghost tried to elaborated their own theories. “Maybe…the three thugs…were…working…with…the little girl…or…they…are…friends…and went…to…the…same...place”

The silver haired girl put a finger in her mouth while thinking about what Ghost said.

“If you put it in that way,” the girl pondered. “I mean, the possibilities that they were collaborating is slim, but at least it could guide both in our goals…Puck, what do you thing?”

The small spirit, that didn’t said anything during the conversation, putting his opinion on the matter.

“Well, I’m not an expert in the “profession” of thieves and such,” Puck said while making a similar expression her partner did. “But I suspect they would go to a sort of lair to collect their “borrowed” stuff, or just sell it to someone else to get rid of it before being spotted”

“To sell it?” the girl said while her eyes widened in fear. “This is bad, if the others find it out, my chances of…”

“Don’t worry…I…will…help you” Ghost interrupted the girl, their determination shining in their dark eyes. “You saved me…so…I…will…help…you”

The girl blushed after such words.

“How…bold of you,” she said with a sigh of resignation. “It seems it can’t be help it…Puck, do you think we can trust…him”?

The little spirit put a strange expression while thinking for an answer.

“Puck?” the girl said with a hint of worry in her tone.

“I know, I know, he seems…trust worthy enough, and it doesn’t seem to expel any negative emotions towards you”

“It seems?”

“Well, he is hard to read, but for what I got, it doesn’t seem to be someone with bad intentions”

Ghost felt a little lost in the strange conversation between the two. For some reason, it was implied that Puck was somewhat capable to sense their mind? But even then to somehow to enter a Vessel’s mind was something even Ghost could do it after a great effort.

Something made Ghost think that Puck was more than he seemed to be. But they didn’t comment on it, only because they didn’t wanted to damage their newborn relationship.

“So…then…let’s go…” Ghost said preparing their stuff. The Dream Nail could be needed to solve their chase.

The girl nodded her head in approval and Puck simply disappeared from their view in a spectacle of blue lights, which went towards the green crystal the girl had in her chest.

Both of them went in search of their lost items during for some hours, asking people in general (although the white haired girl made most of the talking) and giving descriptions of the thieves without much progress. The Ghost tried to use the Dream Nail a couple of times, but feared that, because of the huge crowd of people and with their rescuer at their side, it was too risky.

As the search wasn’t going anywhere for time being, they decided to rest for a moment in a bridge as they tried to think for the next move.

“It seems it would take us the rest of the day and we didn’t even manage to get the slightest clue” the girl said with a sigh of tiredness.

“Don’t worry…we…will…catch…them…” Ghost tried to reassure their companion. “It wouldn’t be the first…time…someone stole…from…me”

The white haired girl raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

“Seriously?” she asked. “And what happened?”

“She…was…a…banker who stole…all…of my…savings…” Ghost narrated, remembering the incident. “I teacher her….a…lesson…don’t worry…she…wasn’t wounded…just…a little physical punishment…nothing too harsh”

“Oh…I see,” the girl said while trying to not think too much about the kind of “punishment” the Vessel delivered. “I’m not that good in managing finances myself, so I let Mister Roswaal do most of it”

Ghost didn’t who was Roswall, maybe a friend of the girl?

“Ah,” the girl gasped if she remembered something important all of the sudden. “I was too worried about the insignia that I forgot to tell my name”

“And this curious fellow too need to present himself to my daughter, as a father, I must be cautious of all potential dangers” a soft voice suddenly appeared near the girl

Puck materialized himself in front of the Vessel while giving a playful look of mock anger.

“Puck!” the girls shouted as low as she could. “Don’t say that stuff in front of him, is too embarrassing”

“Father?” Ghost asked with curiosity.

“Well, Puck is not my…father by bloodline in that way, but…” the girl said remembering her first encounter with the spirit. “But he was a father to me for a few years and he was on my side since we formed our contract”

There were many things the Vessel was curious about that statement, but the one thing that they were the most fascinated was something else.

“You choose…your…family?” the Vessel said with a strange tone. “It…must…be…nice”

“Well, I know it can be strange for some” Puck said as landed on the girl’s right shoulder. “But for me, she was a wonderful daughter and I will support her for objectives”

“Family, huh?” Ghost said while remembering their own past. “My family…”

Both Puck and the girl tried to get a little closer to Ghost as their voice went to a lower tone than usual.

“My family…abandoned me without giving me a name…I was…simply discarded and left…to fed for myself since then”

The girl shouted a gasp of surprise while Puck gave Ghost a sympathetic look.

“I’m…so sorry to hear that,” the girl said as she tried to talk after such a revelation. “It must be hard for you”

“After a while…yes…it…was hard…but I resigned myself to that…fate” the Vessel said with an empty look towards the horizon. “But…you can call me Ghost if you want”

“Ghost?” the girl said while Puck floated close to the Vessel. They simply reached their hand and pet the spirit in an impulse just to feel the fur in him. It was nice.

“Hmmm, his emotions…” Puck pondered in deep though. “Are truly sincere this time…unfortunately”

“So…I have to truly give my name,” the girl whispered calmly. “Very well, I have to repay your sincerity with my sincerity”

Ghost looked at the girl in the eyes, trying to remember that moment onwards in their existence.

“My name…is Emilia”

“Emilia…”

“Yes… Ghost, that’s the name I was given since I was born”

“Sounds…nice” Ghost said in their best complementary voice…for the first time ever.

The white haired girl…no, Emilia left out a small chuckle after hearing Ghost’s words.

It was small moment of calmness between three people in a normal mundane day for most people, but for the Vessel trapped in another world, it would soon become one of their most cherished memories in their existence from here onwards, until their final moments.

But not even Ghost would know this, as it was something of a casual conversation without any special meaning for now.

“We must be going,” Puck said. “Those thieves would not be idle for too long”

Both Emilia and Ghost nodded in agreement and resumed their research.

But for the next hour things didn’t progressed any better, which frustrated even Ghost in that point and without their Wayward Compass to help them navigate the big city, things wouldn’t get any better for the time being.

They returned to the market district, while trying to recount the events in which lead them to their current situation.

“Maybe they live near here…” Emilia tried to be hopeful. “Or just they know a little better about their whereabouts”

While trying to ask someone for the thieves, Ghost noticed something.

“That child…seems lost” the Vessel pointed out a small girl with green hair that looked scared, with small tears forming in her eyes and with fear in her face.

“Poor little thing…” Emilia said with a sad tone. “Maybe she lost her parents”

Ghost couldn’t avoid compare that little girl with their own first moments of being born. Scared, lost, without anyone to receive them with love.

“We must help her,” Emilia said.

“I agree,” Ghost declared without any doubts.

The white haired girl was a little taken aback.

“I mean…” she said while trying to form her next words. “I’m glad that you are so forwards in helping some stranger but…I thought you would hesitate even little”

Ghost didn’t said nothing as both of them went close to the little girl.

“Hi there…” Emilia tried to reassure the lost child. “Are you lost?”

The girl nodded silently as a few gasp left her lips in sadness.

“I lost my mommy…I can’t find her” she said while trying to contain her tears. “I’m so scared”

Ghost pulled the Dream Nail, as Emilia was distracted. Maybe if they could read the girl’s mind it could make their work a little easier. But something unexpected happen.

The Dream Nail wasn’t working. In fact, it seemed that its power was…sealed? No lost, simply sealed or somewhat dormant.

“This is bad…first my body, now this” Ghost though as Emilia tried to calm the girl that was increasingly more agitated. “I must think of something to cheer her up…if only Orgrim was here, he was always found a way to be happy in the harshest of situations”

And in that moment, Ghost found the solution.

“Are you sad?” Ghost asked the most obvious question in the world, but it was necessary for their plans.

The girl nodded silently.

“You know…I knew someone that found himself in great solicitude…but…when remembering…the…ones he loves…” the Vessel put their hands in their chest and imitating one of the great knights of Hallownest, they pounded in an energetic motion. “He did this and shouted doma three times”

The little girl tried to follow Ghost’s instructions.

“Doma…doma…” at first the little girl was a little hesitant.

“You can do it,” the Vessel encouraged the little girl. “Doma, doma, doma!”

“Doma…doma, doma!” the girl shouted as best as she could, now a little less sad and scared.

“Again!” Ghost said while Emilia watched with awe at the sudden development.

“Doma, doma, doma!” the girl said while her little hands hit her chest with a small chuckle of happiness.

“Are you fine…now?” Ghost said.

The little girl nodded.

“Thank you!” the little girl said.

“I’m glad you are clam now” Emilia said with a sigh of relief. “I know your parents told you not to trust strangers, but we can help you find your mom”

“I know were my dad works, but there were too many big people…” the little girl explained. “He is a greatest man, the strongest”

Emilia gave a small laugh.

“You know, my dad also is very strong, but not so much like yours” Emilia said in a playful manner, but Puck didn’t say anything from the green crystal.

The girl nodded in happiness.

“Can…I take your hand?” the little girl asked.

“Sure” Emilia didn’t have to think her answer too much and grabbed softly the little hand of the child.

“And you kind sir?” the little girl offered her hand to Ghost.

The Vessel thought for a moment before doing the same as Emilia, not sure how it would react.

“Wow, you are…so warm, and…calm” the little girl declared in awe.

Ghost was a little surprised by this declaration; after all, they expected to feel cold and empty.

Emilia didn’t understood the meaning behind her words and simply contributed to the little girl emotions towards the Vessel.

“Let’s go then”

And so the two of them (technically three of them) decided to ignore their chase and helped a little lost girl in need.

While walking silently in the streets and Emilia tried to light up the mood with a couple of kind words, Ghost pondered about their strange situation.

And also the fact that they looked like a family for the outside viewer, even though the little girl didn’t have the same white hair as both the people she was holding hands.

“A family…” Ghost was in deep thought. “Hornet, sister…she is so far away now…and I would never be able to see her again…but”

The Vessel gave a quick look towards Emilia.

“Perhaps…I could choose here my own family like she did it…”

It was a silly hope, but it was something that they truly wished in the deepest part of their heart.

After a few minutes, they found out the mother of the lost child, a beautiful woman with brown hair.

“I’m so glad that you managed to find her” the woman said while both she and her daughter gave big smiles for the effort of the two white haired persons.

“Is nothing miss,” Emilia said. “It was the correct thing to do”

“Maybe you could visit my husband” the woman said while holding her daughter. “You two seem lost by the look of your eyes, he knows the city pretty well, you know?”

“Well…, is just we got our stuff stolen from us, you know,” Emilia said with a hint of shyness in her voice.

“Yes…a little…help…would be fine for…us” Ghost accepted the woman’s offering.

“It would be the least we could do for you after finding my daughter”

And when they arrived to the place where her husband worked, Ghost had the biggest surprise of the day yet.

“It is you again? I didn’t expect a strange boy like you to return” the green haired guy, with his well toned body and facial scar from before was looking at both Emilia and Ghost.

“Dear, the strangers here helped our daughter” the woman said with a soft, but firm tone. “They are also looking for help”

“I can’t complain in finding my sweetheart, and you seem to have a companion too,” the vendor said while he accommodated himself from his seat. “Maybe I could reconsider the job proposition”

“Thanks, but is not about the job…” Ghost said, almost completely forgetting about getting a temporary humble work. “Is just we got our…stuff…stolen…from some…thieves”

“Ah…you are new to the capital here?”

“Yes,” answered both Ghost and Emilia at the same times. 

There was a pregnant pause.

“Wait…” Ghost said in surprise. “I thought you knew the city more than I” 

“You see,” Emilia said with an awkward look in her face. “Is not like I knew the centre of the city well, is just that…”

“Sorry to interrupt your sibling fight,” the vendor said with a playful look in his face. “But are you looking for something stolen, right?” 

“Yes…” Emilia said slowly.

“How valuable it was?” the vendor said with curiosity.

“It…depends” Emilia said with a defensive tone in her voice.

“Hey, don’t too hostile,” the vendor said while raising his hands in mock surrender, promoting her daughter to let some chuckles. “I was just trying to get some context you know”

“We…understand” Ghost said. “So…you…were…they…could…be?”

“Can you give some descriptions on how they looked?”

Both Emilia and Ghost narrated for a couple of minutes about the thieves.

“I see…while I don’t know these particular people well, maybe there is a chance that the four of them could have taken the robbed objects to the lower districts at the end of the city”

“The lower districts?” Emilia said with a worried tone.

“Yeah, it’s not the best place for a lady like you,” the vendor said. “And they must have sold the robbed objects to someone else and at the same time bought from a collector of curiosities”

“What I feared…” Emilia said. “We must hurry before is too late”

“Thank you for helping us,” Ghost said. “Maybe we…could see you soon”

The green haired vendor left out a sigh.

“I really hope you find what you search,” the vendor said with an uncharacteristic soft voice. “I’m truly thankfully for your kindness, again…good luck in your endeavours”

“Wait…,” the little girl said while running towards Emilia carrying something in her hands. When the little girl opened them, Emilia and Ghost saw a decoration in the form of a red flower. “For you!”

“Th...thanks!” Emilia responded in kindness as she put the red flower in her clothes.

And with that, they parted ways towards their destination.

After some hours of walking and getting lost a couple of times in finding a way to the lower district, both Emilia and Ghost managed to arrive in time.

The place was obviously worthy of its name, as many houses had a very abandoned looking, and their inhabitants were also in a depressing state. Emilia seemed nervous walking around the place and Ghost was alert for anything. Also the Vessel noticed that the great light in the sky was going down and darkness was getting bigger. Because nobody else in that world panicked from this occurrence, Ghost assumed it was a natural occurrence.

“Is going dark…,” Emilia said while looking at the horizon.

“Yeah, I know,” the voice of Puck was heard and the little spirit appeared. “But don’t worry Lia, if anything bad happens, I will avenge you”

“Don’t say stuff like that,” Emilia responded. As she said that, Ghost noticed that Puck was going more transparent than usual.

“Is…there…any…bad with…him?” Ghost asked with curiosity.

“Just part of our contract,” Emilia explained. “In the case of Puck, he can only be active from nine in the morning to five in the afternoon”

“Oh…I see,” Ghost said without understanding very much those kinds of terms. Maybe something related with the presence of the great light?

“Puck…I will protect Emilia…if you…want,” Ghost declared in front of the spirit.

Both Puck and Emilia exchange looks of surprise in their faces.

“I mean…is nice of you,” Emilia said while trying to form her words. “But your body doesn’t seem to be in good conditions for an intense fight, besides, I can use some spells myself”

“Fair…enough,” Ghost said.

“Ghost…,” Puck said while looking at the Vessel. “I’m thankful you are worried about Lia”

Ghost simply nodded in thanks, and then Puck disappeared and went to the crystal in which he was stored.

“Rest well,” Emilia said with a soft tone.

With that, Ghost and Emilia navigated through the lower districts while asking some people about the knowledge of any place that sold stolen stuff. Unfortunately, many didn’t want to talk to Emilia because of her appearance and expensive looking clothing. It was Ghost in the end that ended up getting better responses, maybe because of Ghost’s was wearing more tattered clothes and also it helped that, unknown to Emilia, the Vessel threatened the same persons that insulted the white haired girl.

“There…is…a place called to Stolen Goods Warehouse,” Ghost explained. “Maybe…there…we…could find…our…stolen…stuff”

When Emilia and Ghost went to the direction in which the scared man indicated to the Vessel. When they arrived, the darkness deepened and the sky was now full of little white lights and a silver light that illuminated the sky, but not so much as the great yellow light.

It was a big looking house, a little more kept than the others in the lower districts.

“Maybe we should use some light lagmite…” Emilia said while searching from her pockets. Then she pulled out some strange crystals that illuminated in the darkness.

“Interesting…,” Ghost said while looking at the light. “But you…can…have…it, I have…my…own ways”

And with that, Ghost searched from his trusty bag and pulled their lumafly lantern. Emilia put an expression of awe at seeing the illuminating lumafly in the Vessel’s hand.

“I never saw something like that,” Emilia said while exanimating the lantern and the little creature inside of it, as it shined and proved the source of light for the object. “Maybe Roswall would be interested in it”

“Roswall?” Ghost finally asked.

“Ah…don’t you know?” Emilia said with a surprise look in her face. “Well, if aren’t from Lugnica it makes sense you don’t know about him personally, he is quite…the curious man”

“I see…” Ghost commented.

“And well…it seems that there is nobody here,” Emilia pondered while looking at the warehouse. “Not even lights or anything…”

“Indeed,” Ghost commented. Their past experience was saying that there was something wrong here. “Emilia…wait here until…I…see if there…is no danger…, understood?”

“Are you sure?” Emilia said while worrying about the Vessel.

“If there…is…anything…wrong…,” Ghost explained. “Just run…don’t worry about me”

Emilia nodded slowly.

“Be careful…,” she said.

Ghost looked at the girl and in an act that they didn’t understood yet, they smiled. The first smile they ever give to someone else.

The Vessel didn’t wait to see Emilia’s reaction and walked towards the door of the warehouse. Their hand touched the doorknob and it was surprisingly unlocked. Now Ghost was tenser than ever, because it was a bad sign in their experience.

Inside, it was all dark, with Ghost‘s lantern being the only light in there. They walked slowly, carefully exanimating the place. There was a great amount of stuff, ranging from old weapons, to armor and other stuff Ghost didn’t recognize. It was definitely the place they were looking for.

“And now I have to get the insignia and my charm…if they weren’t already sold to someone else. I have to do it fast, I don’t like the look of this place”

While Ghost was trying to find their stolen stuff, they felt their feet touching something wet and sticky. It was warm and upon looking down, it had a brilliant red colour. Ghost understood immediately what it was, even if they never harmed any living being in this world.

It was blood, and a lot of it looking at the pool it was formed in Ghost’s feet.

Ghost moved their lamp to illuminate the source of the warm liquid. And indeed, there were the bodies of four dead people in there.

The Vessel immediate recognized two of the trio of thieves from earlier on (the small one and the big one), the body of the blonde little girl and someone else that Ghost didn’t recognize. A person of great stature and big muscles, he was dead and with a piece of glass piercing his neck. And for the great horror of Ghost, they realized that the smaller one of the three thieves was cut in half horizontally, his legs just a few centimetres far from their body

Ghost berating became frantic, looking for any attacker. Whoever was, they were extremely dangerous and skilled enough to make such a massacre without making much noise to alert the other inhabitants of the district.

And then, Ghost heard something from the higher floors.

“Ghost, is something happening?” Emilia asked, clearly nervous of the sounds.

“Run, now!” Ghost didn’t have any more time to explain.

Emilia opened her eyes in complete surprise and began to run from the warehouse, followed closely by Ghost.

But they didn’t run far enough from the place when both of them heard the sound of glass being broken behind them and something heavy landed in front of Emilia.

The white haired girl gave a short scream while Ghost saw the corpse of the leader of the trio of thieves. His stomach was opened with his guts were splattered in the ground.

“My…my…it seems there are more people coming here,” it was a soft, feminine voice that didn’t came from Emilia. And despite being as soft as silk, Ghost realized their intense killing intent. “What a shame for you two…but I guess I’m lucky to have more guts to see”

Ghost immediately turned back with their nail in hand to confront the enemy. They could only see a figure in the darkness rushing towards them. Ghost only managed to parry one attack from her, but they couldn’t see the second one. The blade moved merciless like a sentence from a fearsome judge and pierced the Vessel’s body like air. The pain pierced Ghost’s mind like a fire, and they could only see their dark blood and guts being spilled.

Emilia screamed their name and tried to help the Vessel, but she was easily cut down by the unknown assailant in a single move, such it was the skill of the killer.

And just like that, both of them were about to die. Without any struggle or understanding the reasons of their deaths, they were killed like lower beast. No great explanation, no grand manoeuvres or a final heroic last struggle.

Nothing…

The woman said some words that Ghost didn’t understand because of the combination of sadness, fury and desperation in their mind. They wanted to see their killer but the Vessel could only see her back as she went away from there.

It was over for both of them.

Nobody would come for their help.

Ghost only knew the white haired girl not too long, but it felt like a lifetime now. They swore to protect her, but failed miserably. And now she was dying because of their incompetence.

How pathetic, to end all like that.

Ghost crawled towards Emilia, ignoring the burning pain in their body. Their hand grabbed Emilia’s, trying to comfort her in death.

And she responded in kind, as her finger interlocked with Ghost’s.

The Vessel remembered Myla, Cloth, Tiso, the Hollow Knight and the many people Ghost failed to save.

In the past, they accepted their deaths in impotence. But somehow now, they couldn’t tolerate. After all their efforts, after surviving their assumed death with the defeat of the Radiance, they couldn’t simply die like that.

“Emilia…I promise…I promise by the Abyss itself that I will save you…”

It was strange…why promise something that they already knew it was useless. But Ghost didn’t care. Their will was unbreakable, even in the very end.

“…no matter how much it cost…how great it is…I will save you…”

Emilia raised her head and looked at Ghost with tears in her eyes , like a goodbye, before her life ended.

“I will save you!”

And with that, Ghost’s own life ended.

…

“Ghost…are you alright?” they could hear the voice of Emilia.

It was strange, this is was what happened after you died?

“Weird, the guy here seems more pale than usual…” it was the voice of the fruit vendor.

“Are you alright?” it was the voice of the vendor’s wife.

“Eh?” Ghost asked and saw something strange.

Well, not strange in the sense of weird or something out of place. In fact, it was a mundane and familiar scene.

In fact, for a strange reason, Ghost and Emilia were in front of the same fruit market place from before.

“Emilia?” Ghost asked, clearly lost in their new development. “Why are we here?”

The three people close to the Vessel tilted their heads after hearing the weird question.

“Don’t …you remember?” Emilia said, with a clear worried tone in her voice. “We were looking for our stolen stuff”

“But…we…,” Ghost didn’t know what to say. “We already…”

“Already what?” Emilia asked with curiosity

Ghost didn’t say anything in response. In fact, they didn’t say anything at all.

The last thing they remembered was the horrible pain, the fear and desperation invading their mind.

Ghost and Emilia were supposed to be dead, but somehow not only they were alright now and even more strange was that they returned, not only in a physical manner.

But also, somehow, in a way that escaped Ghost’s knowledge regarding the esoteric matters, they also returned back in time.

“Ghost?” Emilia asked again, her fear increasing on every moment.

And the Vessel felt their body getting weaker after remembering much better the pain that suffered some moments ago.

“Ghost!”

But they couldn’t resist and their knees gave up. Emilia and the vendor managed to catch the Vessel from falling to the ground.

And with that, Ghost realised that their time in this world wouldn’t be as peaceful as they thought (and wish) it would be.


	3. Bloody Negotiations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ghost tries to find another way to obtain the insignia wihout risking Emilia's life. But things doesn't go as planned.

“Ghost, are you alright,” it was the voice of Emilia who called Ghost as they sit in a chair that the fruit vendor provided.

“It’s…nothing,” Ghost replied with a weak voice, as the vendor handled them a cup of water.

“Hey, I don’t to see the guy that helped my daughter looking like that,” the vendor said.

“Looking…like what?” Ghost said as they grabbed the cup and drank the water. It was pretty refreshing and cleared Ghost’s mind of their troubles, even if for a little bit.

“You look like if you saw ghosts or even dead people that came to life or something,” the vendor said. “I…don’t want to comment on anything about your aspect and it would sound rude, but maybe having to spent too much time on those black clothes and having that skin is not good for your health”

“Ah…,” Ghost pondered if by the “sun” it referred with the big light in the sky. “Is…not the sun…is just I…”

“What?” Emilia asked with a hint of worry.

“Like…if I somewhat…like if I somehow I have returned from d…”Ghost tried to say “returned from death”, a simple casual remark, something entirely innocent in their mind but and came almost automatically but something strange and unexpected happen.

Something that made Ghost to think twice before saying they returned from death.

In that moment, it seemed that things were moving slower and slower, like if somehow everything became a painting. Ghost felt that their body couldn’t move and they were they only conscious being in that frozen frame. And then the colours of the world transformed into a dull grey.

And then, **_it_** came.

It was like a black and purple cloud that appeared in front of Ghost, something that felt family.

Indeed, it was the same presence from before they came to this new world. And from that dark cloud, a long left hand appeared, a dark hand that have intentions that Ghost didn’t want to know.

But they couldn’t run, they couldn’t do anything but to be totally defenceless in front of the presence.

The dark hand entered into the Vessel’s chest like if it was made of pure air, and it began to navigate in their body.

It was painful for Ghost, it was like it was experiencing that cut from the assassin that should have killed them, but they were still alive.

 _“Go away”_ Ghost tried to say to the dark hand, but it simply ignored their plea and continue to invade Ghost’s body.

Finally, the hand searched the thing it tried to find. And then with the force of a beast that managed to catch their defenceless prey, they clutched upon Ghost’s physical heart.

In that very moment, Ghost left a scream of pain, attracting the attention of many pedestrians nearby. Even a couple of them, the ones that had more fur than normal, seemed to enter in a panic and ran away from Ghost’s vicinity.

The reactions of both Emilia and the vendor were nothing more than pure panic.

Emilia had to quickly apologize and grabbed Ghost and carried them to a more isolated place before they could continue in their search. As both the girl and Puck tried to see what happen to them, Ghost didn’t talked or said anything for fear that the presence came back.

“Lia…,” Puck commented as they finished their treatment. “He seems alright in terms of physical condition, nothing wrong with his body, but…”

“I understand,” Emilia said while helped Ghost to stand up. “But there is anything that…”

“I only felt fear from him,” Puck said while looking at Ghost with a very strange expression.

“That’s good,” Emilia left a sigh of relief. “Still, strange that he is…well”

Ghost didn’t comment anything, in fact, it didn’t paid attention to their conversation. A storm of questions invaded their mind as they tried to rationalize the bizarre events from the moment of their supposed death until now.

Was that presence somehow related to being able to return by death? If so, why it did silence them when they tried to speak about it? How was the condition in which they simply returned from both Ghost and Emilia saying goodbye to the family of three and not just from the moment Ghost was summoned to this world?

 _“What in the name of the Abyss was happening!?”_ was the only coherent thought Ghost could form in that moment.

“We must move on,” Emilia commented as they prepared to resume their searching. “But maybe you should stay here for your own good as…

In that moment, Ghost remembered the moment in which Emilia was cut down by the mysterious assailant.

“Wait!” Ghost shouted as they stood up rapidly. “I mean, I’ am alright, like…that water…was refreshing and ready to have…our stuff…back”

Emilia and Puck tilted their head in unison.

“Are you sure about that?” Emilia asked.

“I well and…ready, don’t worry about it,” Ghost said their first (half) lie in their entire life.

Puck simply raised an eyebrow from that comment and left a sigh.

“You know that you shouldn’t apparent things…but you are sincere that you want to get things done, isn’t?” the spirit pointed out. “Don’t worry Lia, he seems more resilient that I thought”

Both Ghost and Emilia shared looks of confusion from that comment but decided to simply left in there for the time being, they couldn’t waste more time.

This time around, Ghost and Emilia were able to go to the lower districts far faster than the previous time they did thanks to the guidance from the first. In fact, they arrived so far earlier that the sun was still high in the sky, illuminating the world below it.

However, Ghost didn’t want to walk more from the entrance to the lower district. The memories of their deaths still fresh in the Vessel’s mind

“Emilia…I think it would be better if you stayed here, you know,” Ghost suggested to the white haired girl. “It could be dangerous you know, if anything happened…”

“Why are you so worried?” Emilia said. “I mean, the sun is still up and there are still a couple of hours before Puck has to sleep”

“Because of your contract?” Ghost casually commented

Emilia gave a look of surprise.

“How…how did you know?” Emilia asked.

“I…figured out it would be that type of spirit contract,” Ghost said while trying not to sound too forced. “I mean, aside from that, I don’t think the people that stole you would want to nothing from you”

“Well, that’s true, but that doesn’t mean that I can simply let them get away!” Emilia suddenly raised her voice. “You too have been robbed, so why it seems you want to give up?”

“I…,” Ghost tried to justify their reasoning. “Maybe there is a…way to negotiate with them…I have…some…stuff…that could…be…interesting for them”

“Negotiate?” Emilia said as she pondered. “No offense…but I don’t see something in you that could have the same value as my stolen insignia”

“And how much is that?”

“Twenty sacred gold coins…” Emilia simply commented with a slight blush in her face. “I know, it is embarrassing of my part to lose something so valuable so easily…”

Ghost didn’t understood how the economy of this world worked, but they assumed that those “sacred gold coins” would be a lot of money. However…

“Emilia…I want to show you something,” Ghost said as the grabbed their bag that carried in their waist and opened in front of her.

“What…is that?” Emilia asked with curiosity as she grabbed a charm. It was the Gathering Swarm.

“A…magical object…a charm,” Ghost tried to explain. “This…one…lets you…summon…little…creatures that…can…help you collect…things…in the ground”

“Oh…,” Emilia gasped while examining the small charm in her hands and then the bag full of them. “A metia?”

“Metia?”

“Like you said, a magical object,” Emilia explained. “Even if one doesn’t have magical training or even a proper functioning gate can use a metia, but is strange you have so many of them without knowing what a metia is”

“And how much…value can have?” Ghost asked with curiosity. “it would be…enough?”

“Well…,” Emilia said while looking more thoroughly the contents of the bag. “I suppose that even just three of them could be enough to guarantee to buy the insignia and the object that was stolen from you”

 _“At least some good news_ ” Ghost thought as Emilia put the charm back on the bag.

“Although, is kind of a shame to lose three metia in this situation,” Emilia left a long sigh. “I wouldn’t want you to simply coming losing in this situation, is pretty unfair”

“It could be…worse,” Ghost casually said while remembering their “death”

“I suppose, but…” Emilia commented as she looked at the district. “Look, I understand what you are trying to do and could work, but please...be careful”

“Don’t worry, I will…come…back…,” Ghost reassured to Emilia. “…soon”

The white haired girl gave Ghost a last look with her purple eyes before Ghost went towards the warehouse.

While walking alone in the almost empty district, Ghost realized that their thoughts were getting clearer and clearer from the chaotic mess that were some moments ago.

The plan was simple, get to the warehouse, present the charms (if convenient, the ones that they used the least) convince them of their value, get the insignia and the Wayward Compass, and to get out as fast as they could before encountering the murdered.

Before they knew, Ghost was in front of the warehouse, with the sun still in the sky. It wasn’t late.

Ghost breathed some air to their lungs and knocked the door twice.

“Hello…? Somebody here?” Ghost said in a low voice.

Then it tried to twice again but they could only do once before the door was abruptly open.

“Who the hell is the one visiting my store without knowing the password!?”

An enormous figure appeared, facing Ghost. His dark soft shell and giant stature was something that Ghost recognized as the same as one of the corpses in that frightful moment.

“What is with that face?” the giant person asked impatiently.

“Well…I was told that…this…is…the warehouse of stolen…goods,” Ghost slowly said while trying to compose themselves of the surprise. “I have some…stuff…that could be…of interest”

The man raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t know what are you trying to say, but old Rom here will not be easily fooled,” the man pointed a finger to himself. “Besides, I believe that Felt will come back soon with a big “fish” she said she would catch”

“Felt?” Ghost asked. “Do you refer to…a…blonde girl with…red…eyes?”

“Yes,” Rom said with clear surprise in his voice. “And how did you know?”

“Eh…,” Ghost tried to make an excuse so to not look suspicious. “Well…there was this…incident…I got my stuff…stolen from three guys…and I accidentally crossed ways with Felt…and I asked for were one could…sell stolen stuff and…I came here.”

Rom looked at Ghost carefully, before giving his final verdict.

“That sounds a little suspicious from your part,” the giant man dryly said. “If you came here with some guards accompanying you…well, let’s say that you will pay dearly”

“I’m not being accompanied by guards,” Ghost said with their most sincere tone, because it was technically true that Ghost only came (at least to the entrance) of the lower district with a single person, a girl with a small spirit and she wasn’t a guard. “Is only me here…don’t…be…too…paranoid”

“Hmm…” Rom grunted. “I have my reasons to be a little paranoid, but…you seem to speak the truth”

“So…I can enter?” Ghost asked.

“You can...,” Rom declared. “But don’t try anything funny”

And then the man pointed Ghost’s nail in their back.

“Just to be sure,” he said. “I look old, but I have my share fare of…experience in dealing with troublemakers”

The Vessel left a sigh of resignation, at least it seemed that the situation didn’t escalated too quickly.

When both entered into the warehouse, Ghost looked carefully in their surroundings. Indeed, despite the confusion of that moment, they could still recognize the same elements from before, which augmented the amount of questions about the nature of their return by death.

_“Let’s not thing about that too much, it would be easier to make Zote not reckless or Cornifer not trying to explore uncharted places”_

The sudden memory of those two people made Ghost fell more relaxed despite the strange things that were occurring lately.

Rom went behind the counter and Ghost sit in one of the chair close to it. Before the Vessel could say anything else, Rom began to drink something from a mug.

Judging from the strong smell that came from it, Ghost deduced it was some class of fermented beverage.

When Rom drank his fair share, he finally looked back to Ghost since they were inside of his building.

“Man, I needed that beer after you scared me with that,” the big man said while giving Ghost a curious look. “No offense kid, but…when I opened that door I thought for a moment I was looking at the Witch”

Ghost tilted their head in confusion. It was again the mention of that “Witch”, which didn’t have many positive connotations in seeing it was mentioned with fear and disgust.

“I have to apologize for that,” Rom said while putting a hand behind his head. “It would be highly hypocritical of me to judge someone without understanding who they are first”

“It seems…that…too…many people…are like that,” Ghost said while remembering certain moments back in their world, before they went to Hallownest, that didn’t want to remember. “They simply love…to…let…their…fears dictated…their actions”

“You too, eh?” Rom asked, now with a more sympathetic tone of voice than their first rough encounter. “I’m not stranger to that treatment, being a Giant, a demi-human…although, even if I have met many demi-humans in my life, I never saw someone of your kind before”

Demi-human, there was that word again. Ghost didn’t understand very well what was a human or a demi-human. But preferred to simply “play” to what direction the conversation was going than to show absolute zero understanding of the workings of this world.

“Well…I’m…,” Ghost tried to explain in the best way possible. “…not…a common…demi-human”

“Maybe an Oni?” Rom asked first. “Those are rare in these days”

“Oni?” this time around Ghost couldn’t avoid asking.

“Well, looking back at you carefully and remembering how Onis looked…,” Rom shook his head. “Your horns look different from them and even then they only showed their horns in the heat of battle”

Rom drank again more of this beer drink thing before continuing their conversation.

“Want some?” Rom offered his mug to the Vessel.

“Sorry…not…someone that likes…to…drink that…kind…of stuff” Ghost denied his offering. “I tried only…once”

“And what happen?” Rom asked with curiosity

“I somehow woke up…in the cave…sleeping with…a…beast…that…thought I was…one…of…her…children” Ghost remembered a certain incident that happened before going to Hallownest. “She…cared…for…me…for some…time…before…we…departed…ways”

“Well, that was…something” Rom said, clearly entrained by Ghost’s anecdote.

“Despite being a…feral…creature…she was somehow…nice” the Vessel said. “Although the food…was…horrid”

“I can imagine that,” Rom said before finishing his mug. He left a long sigh. “You know…that tale of yours reminded me of Felt”

“Why?” Ghost asked this time. “Did…did she was temporally adopted by a beast?”

“Not like that,” Rom said with a higher tone of voice than before, in clear offence of Ghost’s words. “In the first place she doesn’t drink alcohol, maybe I’m careless but not totally irresponsible and second…”

Rom seemed to calm down for a second before letting a sigh.

“She is like…a granddaughter to me you know?” Rom simply said. “She was this little thing that was abducted from her home…I looked after her all this years”

“A…chosen family…”Ghost simply murmured, just like with Emilia and Puck.

“Yeah, something like that, despite Felt being human and I a giant,” Rom said while looking at Ghost carefully. “And yours? I’m not someone to meddle in the life of others, but you seem too young to visit these kinds of places without a good reason”

“I have none…I never had a…father or a mother…to look after me…I always looked after myself” Ghost said without any kind of sadness or pride in that, it was simply stating their own life in a very short summary.

If only any of the people in this world could imagine the truth behind those words.

“I’m…sorry to hear about that,” Rom seemed genuinely concerned. “Many in this district are people that try to survive by any means…is a sad life and despite Felt being confidence in her skill, in the end she is not the kind of person to follow the same path”

“What…do you mean…by that?” Ghost asked.

“It means…she deserves a better kind of life” Rom simply said in a strange tone of voice.

“Ah…” left a strange sound in mutual understanding.

The same kind of wish they had over their sibling, the one that was chosen.

“Hmm, what are you trying to say?” Rom asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No…is that…,” Ghost left a smile. “Is just that…you truly care about her”

“Well, it is not something to be too surprised…” Rom said while seeing trying to recover from the sudden words that came from Ghost. It was funny seeing him blush in embarrassment. “In any case, you too seem…”

But before Rom could continue, there was the sound of someone knocking the door. Rom went towards it but didn’t open it first.

“For a rat…” Rom said first and was rapidly answer by the voice of little girl. Ghost recognized it belonged to Felt.

“Poison…”

“For a white whale…”

“A harpoon…”

“To the noble dragon lord, we are…”

“Scum…”

And whit that, Rom opened the door.

“I’m sorry old man Rom, but I have to shake her off and even encountered with some pale weirdo that jumped in front of me…” Felt said while leaving a sigh. “It was a good catch tho, despite the trouble”

“Ah…about that,” Rom said while giving space to Felt to enter. Ghost looked that the blonde girl that collided in mid-air.

“Why…are you calling me…some…pale…weirdo,” Ghost said. “I admit my skin colour…is not normal”

Felt left a very exaggerated expression of surprise and left a sound that could been pretty funny in other circumstances despite the fact Ghost was still nervous about the killer appearing at any moment.

“You!” the little girl said, pointing an accusatory finger towards Ghost. “From the alley, what are you doing here!? Did you managed to follow me!?”

“I asked the locals,” Ghost simply answered.

“Bullshit!” Felt shouted. “Did you sell me Rom?”

“Watch that mouth Felt,” Rom said with a not very angry voice. “This guy seems to have something to offer”

“Eh…?”

“Well, it what he said…,” Rom explained. “Although I don’t know why it did came for…”

“I came here…to…obtain…something.” Ghost explained while Felt sit in a chair and Rom returned to the counter. “Maybe something…like a compass…but is a metia”

“A metia?” Felt asked. “Nothing fancy like that here”

“Yeah, sorry kid, but I don’t have anything like that here” Rom said.

“I suppose…I’m out of luck then…” Ghost resigned themselves to lose the Wayward Compass. At least it could obtain the insignia Emilia described before, and speaking of which…

“Well, leaving aside some personal trouble,” Felt said while showcasing the small object that she stole from Emilia. In that moment, Ghost saw the handle of a blade that was in its sheath in the girl’s back.. “This little thing would be a small fortune if negotiations go well, it even has a gem of good quality and everything”

Indeed, despite being small, even Ghost realized the insignia was carefully made with quality materials and the shining gem in the center of it only augmented the valour of the object.

“I…want…that,” Ghost said unexpectedly.

Both Rom and Felt looked at the Vessel if they somehow grew another head.

“Hey, I like bold people…but even then that is too much,” Felt said raising an eyebrow. “I’m waiting someone else to buy this”

“Someone else?” Ghost asked with curiosity.

“The person that requested to steal this insignia from its owner,” Felt explained. “Why the sudden interest in it?”

“Well…because…I…wanted…to…have…something else…as…a…compensation…from losing the insignia…” Ghost blatantly lied in front of Rom and Felt.

“Feeling greedy, eh?” Rom said. “At least you could show that something you promised before”

Ghost simply opened the bag and put all the charms they have collected during their journey in Hallownest in the counter.

“And those are…?” Felt said while examining the charms.

“Metias…all metias” Ghost simply said. “It was hard to obtain them all but…it was worth it”

The expressions that Felt and Rom gave in reaction to those words were ones of pure shock and awe.

“You…you must be kidding, right?” Felt asked. “No offense, but you look like a vagabond, not some sort of rich aristocrat”

“I explored a lot…,” it was the only thing Ghost could explain for now.

“And…what kind of things these metia can do?” Rom asked while examining the Defender’s Crest.

“Eh…I wouldn’t recommend…that one…” Ghost remembered the…“curious” effect that charm had over its carrier.

“It’s something dangerous?” Rom asked while he left the charm carefully in the counter. “I heard some metia can be pretty powerful but dangerous”

“Not…something like that…” Ghost tried to explain while a blush appeared in their face. “Is…kind…of embarrassing…to be honest”

“And this one?” Felt asked, pointing out the Sharp Shadow.

“I don’t think you could use that one…” Ghost simply said. If somehow Felt was associated with the Abyss (which was something absurd) that charm was all but useless for the little girl.

“And there is actually one you can offer at the end or what!?” Felt was impatient.

“Sorry for not clarifying…but…” Ghost took three charms that would be of interest to Felt.

“These are the…Dashmaster…the Sprintmaster and the…Unbreakable Greed” Ghost explained about the charms. “Dashmaster…will…make…you dash more often…Sprintmaster will make you faster…and Unbreakable Greed will make…easier to find money”

In that moment Felt’s eyes shined upon hearing those words and even left her mouth open, like a hungry animal when someone offered a nice piece of meat.

“That’s…,” Felt said while trying to grab the charms. “That’s…”

“Felt,” Rom said with a cautionary voice. “Maybe we should test if this kid is saying the truth about the metia he has”

“Right…” Felt said.

“You can test them…yourself” Ghost offered to Felt the charms. “Be careful…only…use…Dashmaster and Sprintmaster…Unbreakable Greed can be…”heavy”…for you”

“Man, I don’t what are you talking about but…,” Felt say while holding both charms in each hand. “I never had a metia in my life”

“Is that…rare?” Ghost asked.

“Well, is not like they sell them like they were appas, you know?” Felt said while examining the chamrs. “And…how do you use them?”

“Stand still…” Ghost said while they got close to Felt. “Just put them in…your waist…yes…like that…and just think about them”

“Think?” Felt asked while adjusting the charms. “Like what?”

“Form a mental image…of them…” Ghost continued with their explanation. “And you would be…able to…connect…to them”

“That sounds like magic…but I will give a try,” Felt say while she closed her eyes in deep thought.

“Did it work?” Rom asked.

“Let’s see…” Felt said while she opened her eyes. “I hope this works!”

And with that, the little girl managed to run through the main floor of The warehouse with the blink of an eye. She was almost invisible to the naked eye in her speed. truly she was very compatible with those chamrs.

“Wow, be careful there!” Rom shouted.

Felt simply returned to the same place where she began her short race.

“So…what it did it fell?” Ghost asked for an evaluation.

Felt didn’t say anything before she opened her mouth left out a cry of happiness.

“Absolutely amazing, the best thing ever!” she said while she gave the chamrs back to Ghost. “I dunno where you managed to obtain these awesome metia, but it was totally worth it!”

“Really?” Rom asked. “Are they that good?”

“Yeah! It was like, activating the blessing but without actually doing it!” Felt said while barely containing her excitement. “Man, I can’t wait to try using them with my Divine Protection, nobody could ever catch me in a race!”

“Humph, you seem to have put Felt in a good mood,” Rom said. “Congrats…I guess”

“Is…that good?” Ghost pondered. What was that Divine Protection Felt was talking about? It was something related with Higher Being. In any case, at least negotiations were going smoothly than they ever expected.

“Good? I would say freaking fantastic!” Felt declared with open enthusiasm “I can obtain so much money with these two, just watch people of Lugnica! Felt the Magnificent Thief is going after you and your pockets!”

“Welp, you made Felt’s dreams now a reality…”Rom said while trying to putting his left hand in his face while Felt laugh at him, not in a malicious way, but rather in a way only two people that shared life together could only do.

“Hey Rom, don’t put that face,” Felt said while giving the giant some friendly claps. “Despite being kind of scary looking, this guy is quite generous, don’t you think”

Ghost decided to ignore the Felt commentary and went to the next question.

“So…how…much these metia…could be value?”

“Definitely ten…no, twenty sacred gold coins,” Rom explained. “Or even more depending who is willing to pay. These metia in particular could be very useful for some mercenaries or even members of the Royal Guard”

“So…are…they good?” Ghost carefully asked.

“What do you think!?” Felt said with a combination of happiness and clear frustration from such an obvious question. “These things are pure awesome I tell you”

“So…there is…a deal?” Ghost asked.

“I have to admit…I’m very tempted,” Felt said while she pondered. “My client said she is bringing a lot of money to the table, so I have to give a try with her first”

In that moment, like if Felt had somehow summoned that person in question, there was someone knocking the door.

“It must be her,” Felt said.

“Strange, she doesn’t know the password,” Rom commented.

Ghost decided to grab the rest of the charms from the counter and put them in their bag. They felt it was better that this new person didn’t saw the rest of the charms and had the “curiosity” of trying to take some of them without Ghost’s consent.

“I forgot to tell her about that, sorry,” Felt excused herself while she went to open the door.

With that said, Rom grabbed something near him, a big club with little pointy metal objects in its head.

“Just in case,” Rom said after seeing worried expression.

When the girl opened the door, Ghost felt a strange cold invading their body, despite of the warm of the big light still illuminating the world.

Despite the darkness and confusion, Ghost recognized their killer and her voice blowed away any doubts of that.

“My, my, it seems there are some surprises here,” the woman said while looking at the Vessel. Her black hair, fair skin and the strange clothes that rereleased much of their chest and abdomen was accompanied by an aura of both seduction and confidence.

But something else that Ghost noticed from her that Felt and even Rom (to a certain extend) didn’t.

The way the new visitant moved and acted, her strange calm smile made Ghost’s instinct and experience scream that she was a cold and calculating killer, someone that enjoyed the heat of battle.

“He is a kid that came here with a very interesting offer” Felt said while she prepared a table and the chairs so the three could sit.

Ghost had to sit in the opposite side of the new comer while Felt was in their side.

“First, I think is good to present ourselves, shall we?” the voice of the mature woman was like honey to the ears of many, but Ghost understood that behind that sweetness there was a deadly poison. “My name is Elsa, nice to meet you”

“I’m…Ghost,” they say while trying to sound as polite as they could.

“My, my, quite the fitting name,” Elsa said while her fingers subtly touched Ghost’s in a fast but calm move, without the other noticing it, sending a shiver to the Vessel’s spine. “So…do you have the insignia? My employer is a nice person, but also kind of impatient and wants to know if you were successful in obtaining.”

“Yes, I have it here,” Felt said while she put the insignia on the table.

“Yes…this indeed the one,” Elsa said with a strange light in her eyes. “Your skills are truly commendable, I congratulate you little girl”

“Tha…thank you!” Felt said with a blush of embarrassment in reaction with the sudden compliment. “And how much that employer of yours offers for the insignia?”

“Well…they were eager to obtain the insignia at any cost so…” Elsa said while she opened a bag that she carried and put the money on the table. “And they offer quite the generous amount”

Elsa mouth opened in an expression of pure shock as she saw the many coins that were in the table. Rom proceeded to count and examine, trying to say if they weren’t false. As the giant did that, Elsa drank from a glass of strange white liquid that Rom offered to her that Ghost couldn’t recognize.

“Well, there are twenty sacred gold coins in here, quite the generous amount indeed,” Rom calmly said. “Your employer truly is someone of fortune”

“Let’s say that they have…a great amount,” Elsa remarked as her eyes didn’t went apart much from Ghost’s as they tried to remain calm as long as they could. “And you, you seem quite interesting. With that looks of yours you seem to hold many surprises…”

“Indeed…” Ghost simply said as they put the charms that showed to Felt before.

“My, my, what do you have here?” Elsa say as she looked at the charms with curiosity while she took another sip from her glass.

“Three metia…Dashmaster, Sprinmaster and Unbreakable Greed…,” and then Ghost pocceded to explain their effect and to Felt to confirm that the charms weren’t a scam as she herself proved their effect.

“Metia…and quite the rare ones,” Elsa said as she examined the chamrs. “You are truly full of surprises…”

“So…how much do you think it would value in the end?” Ghost asked.

“I have to admit…,” Rom pondered more carefully. “Knowing now how much value these metia have and their many uses they can have I could really confirm that they value even more than twenty sacred gold coins”

“My, my…so it seems I have lost then…” Elsa said while giving a sigh a shrugged in surrender while she finished her drink. “It seems that it was the waste of time for me”

“Sorry about your employer, but maybe next time they should bring more to the table,” Rom politely said as Elsa put the money of her bag.

“You are right, it seems that it was their fault that they didn’t gave me more,” Elsa commented while Ghost grabbed the insignia and left the three charms to Felt, as her smile went bigger and bigger and barely suppressed a squeak of excitement.

Went everyone got up and prepared to depart ways, Elsa suddenly went closer to Ghost, putting her right hand to their stomach and her left to their right cheek. Ghost had to use all their willpower not to let a scream of fear as they remembered the same hand that used a blade to gut them and Emilia.

“Is a shame we couldn’t share more moments with you…,” Elsa said while she left Ghost alone after that strange act. “You are quite cute and so youthful looking despite you being almost of my size…”

“Eh…,” Ghost couldn’t see anything as Rom sighed and Felt laughed in a mocking way.

“Hey Ghosty, you are so lucky to attract such a cute lady,” she said while giving Ghost a friendly clap to their back. “If you continue like that, you will be the envy of the boys in Lugnica!”

“Yeah…” Ghost said while trying to force a smile in respond. They had now the insignia and it didn’t seem that Elsa wanted to kill them all in that moment. And now their next objective was to go outside and reunite with Emilia as soon they could before Elsa changed her mind. “So…goodbye then”

And with that, Ghost walked towards the entrance’s door of the warehouse.

“Before you go,” it was the voice of Elsa behind them. “What do you intend to do with that insignia?”

“Ah…,” Ghost was taken aback by the sudden question. “I’m an aimless wanderer that likes to collect strange things in my many travels”

It was it was truth that was useful to mask Ghost’s true intentions with the insignia.

“It seems so…,” Elsa say while exanimating Ghost. “You don’t look to have much money in you and the only way to obtain that kind of metia is through adventuring…so, good luck in your future endeavours”

Ghost didn’t wanted to look back at Elsa, as they didn’t want to notice the fear in their eyes.

When the Vessel was about to open the door and leave behind the warehouse, there was the sudden sound of someone else knocking the door.

Ghost could feel their heart going faster and faster and the sound went stronger and stronger.

“Who…who else did you invite?” Rom asked to Felt as Elsa simply stood quite.

“Nobody else if I remember…” Felt quitly say.

Ghost didn’t want things to prolong too much, so before Rom could go, the Vessel opened the door.

From the door frame, three figures were waiting, and their faces went from their content smiles to pure shock as they saw Ghost being the one who awaited them.

“WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!?” it was the voice of the tiny thief from the trio back on the alley.

 _“NOT NOW!”_ it was Ghost inner voice screaming in frustration.

“How the hell did you follow us!?” it was the leader that, despite the shock from Ghost breaking his knives, pushed the Vessel in frustration.

“Hey you little punk, no fighting in my warehouse!” Rom said as he wielded the club as a warning.

“Are you the Rom people in this dump were talking about?” asked the big one of the trio.

“Yes, I’m…,” Rom said as his patient was going sour. “You better explain yourselves about your business here”

“No in front of the pale kid here,” the leader said pointing Ghost. “We just stole from this guy some weird thing, maybe a metia of sort…”

“Well, he has many,” Felt casually commented before receiving an accusatory glance from Ghost. “Eh…ups?”

“Anyway, the thing is…” the leader continued talking as Ghost couldn’t do anything to stop them. “The weirdo somehow followed us despite our efforts in hiding our track”

“Yeah…we thought that we lose him, but somehow there was this strange white haired girl in the entrance to the district,” the little one said. “In fact…it wasn’t the same we saw when we ran away with his stuff? We had to take another route just to avoid her”

In that moment, Ghost wished to have the power to simply disappear and appear to other places at will and be with Emilia right now.

“Wait…a white haired girl?” Felt asked. “With fancy clothes?”

“The same,” the big one confirmed.

Ghost breathing became erratic as they moved their head in what it looked like an eternity until they saw Elsa’s face. Her eyes had now a dark shadow over them.

“So…you were with her, didn’t you?” Elsa slowly said as everyone in the warehouse went silence. “What a shame…ah well, let’s have some fun, shall we?”

In that moment, Elsa dashed towards Ghost, who managed to parry the blade of the assassin with their nail.

“My…you have quite the sword,” Elsa commented. “But your strength…it doesn’t match its craftsmanship”

There was a scream of rage as Rom launched towards Elsa. Ghost, Elsa and the trio barely managed to dodge the hit of the giant, as his club destroyed the entrance of the warehouse.

“What are you doing!?” it was the scream of the little one. “You cut off our only way out!”

But Rom didn’t pay attention as he fought Elsa. But despite their difference in size, Elsa managed to somehow parry every deadly strike of her big opponent.

“I never had the opportunity to fight a giant, I hope you give your best” Elsa calmly said as she easily dodged a particular hard hit.

“I will give you all the fun you want you bitch!” Rom insulted his opponent. “Just keep quiet and maybe you will have a painless death!”

“This…this looks bad!” the big one said as he watched the confrontation in the warehouse. “That crazy lady can fight that giant like it was nothing!”

“Don’t worry, old man Rom couldn’t simply get defeated by someone like her!” Felt shouted.

But fate thought the contrary, as Elsa, clearly getting bored of her fight with Rom, cut the giant’s right arm in a swift movement.

There was a moment of silence as everyone in the room tried to comprehend what happened. And then Felt left a cry of anguish.

“ROM!”

But despite of his grave injury, Rom had enough strength to launch towards Elsa in a final moment of defiance.

“AT LEAST I WILL TAKE YOU WITH ME!”

But Elsa only smiled as she grabbed the broken glass were she was drinking before and stabbed Rom in his throat.

“I forgot to tell you but…,” Elsa said as she left her enemy to perish. “But thanks for the milk, it was really delicious”

There was a muffled sound of pain as Rom bleed to death. Then his lifeless body felt to the floor.

“You…,” it was the only thing Felt could say as they watched the only family she ever had die in front of her. “YOU BITCH!”

“My, so this man was someone you care about, right?” Elsa say as Felt rage augmented with every word Rom’s killer spoke. “Do you really want to throw away your life?”

“As if you didn’t just planned to kill us all here!” Felt said while she put two small objects in her waist. Ghost realized it was the two charms they offered for the insignia. “Ghost…forgive me to put you got caught into this”

“Felt…don’t do it,” Ghost pleaded to her. Even with the advantage of Felt with the charms, they knew that her opponent was far superior.

But Felt didn’t paid attention and in that moment, Ghost and the trio of thieves felt like if a sudden gust of wind appeared in the warehouse like a small storm.

“This…is for Rom!” was the last thing Felt said as she launched towards Elsa.

If Felt was fast in her first use of the two charms, now it was like if the gods of the wind and speed gave their power to the blonde girl in her revenge. The trio couldn’t see her, and even Ghost in their experience in combat could barely track her down.

“Blessing of the Wind, you are loved by the world…,” Elsa simply said as she dodge and parried the many strikes Felt delivered. “And the power of two metia that compliment your inherent abilities…truly a deadly combination, but…”

In that moment, Elsa made a graceful move and cut on the place in which Felt was going to attack next, perfectly predicting her movement.

And indeed, the result was obvious. Felt received a fatal wound in her abdomen, and she died without accomplishing the dreams she talked so excitedly some moments before.

Her body fell near the place in which Rom died too.

“Well, it seems we have you left,” Elsa said. “I have to warn you though, young boys like you are my speciality”

Ghost couldn’t say anything. They simply saw the two people that shared laughs and happiness, even if briefly, died mercilessly like nothing.

Suddenly, they remembered Cloth and Myla, and sharp pain crossed their bodies in that dark memory.

“I…I don’t want to die…,” the small one of the trio shed tears of fear as Elsa smiled and simply waited of their first move. “I don’t to die I DON’T WANT TO!”

“Shut up, we can deal with this crazy bitch if we overwhelm her!” the leader shouted as he prepared two knives that took from the pile of weapons from the warehouse. The big one took too an old sword and prepared himself for battle.

“Kan…don’t worry about it,” the big one say “I and Chin will deal with her, you must go upstairs and jump from a window”

“Ton…are you crazy!?” Kan shouted. “This bitch killed a giant and a girl with a blessing and two metia like nothing, we don’t have any chances…!”

“Shut up and listen you idiot!” Chin screamed. “If you survive, you can go to the authorities as a witness, you can at least avenge us by having the Royal Guard go after this psycho!”

Kan could only nod slowly as he prepared to run.

“Wait…,” Ghost said as they prepared their nail and put some charms in their waist, Sharp Shadow, Unbreakable Strength, Fury of the Fallen, Mark of Pride and Nailmaster’s Glory. “I will help you”

The faces of the three thieves went in shock by the sudden resolution of the stranger.

“But we…,” Ton slowly said. “We assault you back then”

“And I’m still angry…about it,” Ghost walked to go with both Ton and Chin. “But I want to avenge these…two”

The leader of the trio left a shot laugh after hearing these words.

“You are a weirdo…,” Chin simply said as he prepared himself for battle. “But I like that!”

“Did you stop talking,” Elsa yawned, as if the drama that developed in front of her bored her immensely. “Is all heart-warming and all, but I’m waiting for some fun and so much talk made my humour go south”

“I will shut that ugly smile of yours bitch!” Ton said as both he and Chin attacked together with Ghost towards their mutual enemy.

The attack was on unison, but after they swing their first attack, Ghost realized something was wrong.

The charms weren’t working. They tried to focus on them but it was almost like the charms were silent.

 _“Why now, at all times!”_ Ghost screamed in their mind in frustration.

But both Ton and Chin didn’t realized this and continue attacking together with the Vessel in an effort to distract Elsa so Kan could escape.

After a few moments of exchanging blows the three were already panting by the enormous effort of parrying and dodging every deadly attack Elsa did. But their effort weren’t in vain as the managed to put Elsa in a corner of the warehouse, far from the smallest member of the trio.

“Now is your chance!” Chin shouted.

The little one ran towards the staircase, but in that moment Ghost noticed the strange smile Elsa gave.

“KAN, WATCH OUT!” Ghost screamed, but it was too late. With a move so fast it remind it the Vessel of Felt, Elsa threw her hidden blade towards the small person trying to escape. Kan barely managed to see the weapon before it penetrated his chest.

“NOOO!” both Chin and Ton screamed as they tried to attack Elsa, but she easily jumped over them.

“My, my…these metia are really good,” Elsa said as she showed the two charms that Felt took from Ghost. “Shame she will never be able to use them again”

“When…?” was the only thing Ghost could muster in their mouth.

But the two thieves didn’t paid attention to the Vessel as they launched towards Elsa.

“Bye, bye…it was a pleasure to meet you,” Elsa simply said as too ran towards her opponent.

But she was now faster than before, and in a single swing, she mercilessly killed Chin and Ton.

Ghost couldn’t do anything but to witness more deaths that they couldn’t prevent.

“And only you remain,” Elsa remarked as she slowly walked towards Ghost.

The Vessel understood that there weren’t any chances of defeating her, for a strange reason other people in this world could use their charms but not them, they also tried to use focus to heal the small wounds in their body but realized that their amount of Soul they had in reserve was at the very minimum.

In short, they were about to die.

They didn’t want to. They were too scared to experience death a second time.

What if they couldn’t return?

What it would happen to Emilia?

“It seems you are afraid” the cruel voice of Elsa resonated in the warehouse. “I really hope you didn’t just gave up already, it would be boring to fight someone that doesn’t oppose”

Then the Vessel remembered their sister, Hornet, and how much they would feel disappointed if they saw them like that after they were capable of defeating her twice.

They remembered the courage of Cloth facing against the Traitor Lord and how much strength she had even when dying.

And remember the final moments with Quirrel at the Blue Lake.

In that moment, even in the middle of despair, Ghost found their resolution.

Of course they knew that they couldn’t win, but that didn’t mean they would die without trying.

Ghost raised their weapon in defiance. Elsa sadistically smiled after seeing the Vessel ready to fight.

“Ah, much better,” Elsa said. “I can’t wait to see the colour of your guts!”

She went towards Ghost, her speed something more of a beast rather than a normal person.

Ghost used all of their concentration and experience, they couldn’t rely in charms or magic, or any other artefact.

This was a fight between blades.

Elsa hit hard and fast, Ghost used every trick they knew, the techniques from the Nailmasters and also their knowledge of battle when they were outside of Hallownest.

Ghost poured everything in both body and soul, trying to at least take Elsa in death.

But soon Elsa managed to find the weakness in Ghost attacks and the Vessel stamina soon run out.

Ghost was bleeding, black blood like ink poured from the many small cuts Elsa gave to them.

“What a curious look…,” Elsa exanimated Ghost’s blood. “But let’s see those guts”

And with that, Elsa realized a swift move with her blade and cut the Vessel’s abdomen. They collapsed, pain invading their entire being.

“What a shame…I wanted to see wonderful colours from writhing you, but it’s all boring” Elsa calmly remarked with a bored face. “Maybe watching you die would make my day better”

Ghost wanted to scream at her how much they hated her, how much they despised her from the pain she brought to other.

But they couldn’t, they only could die uselessly again, not knowing if they would reurnt.

It was too painful to even think now.

And then Ghost’s life ended…for the second time.

…

“Ghost?” it was the voice of someone familiar, someone that full them with relief.

“Emilia?” the Vessel asked.

“You scared me for a moment, you put that weird face and…” Emilia tried to say. “Are you alright?”

“Maybe…maybe we shouldn’t go to the warehouse” Ghost said.

Emilia tilted her head in confusion.

“Why?”

“I…I don’t like the idea, that's all” Ghost said, a lie to protect her, even for a little.

Ghost really hoped so, because they didn’t know what would happen if they died again.


	4. A shooting star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ghost, in their most desperate moment, tries to avoid their grim fate with the help of an ally.

“Ghost wait!” Emilia shouted as she tried to follow the Vessel. “Why are you doing this?”

“Why? Because I don’t think is a good idea to go that place, it could be dangerous” Ghost responded. “I mean, the people that stole from us could await us to assault us in a surprise attack…”

“I’m not totally defenceless you know, even without Puck I can cast some spells” Emilia explained to Ghost. “Why…why are you acting like this?”

Both of them walked in the streets of the capital aimlessly while Emilia questioned Ghost about their strange attitude they developed recently. Ghost tried to dodge them as best they could, but without effect. Now they were on an alley, a different one from their first encounter.

“Ghost…why?” Emilia said as her face showed an expression of sadness. “Is not the way you typically act”

Ghost breathed deeply before they talked again, trying to choose their words carefully.

“Maybe…maybe risking our lives…for some…material objects is not worth it” Ghost tried to excuse themselves. “I mean, you can replace it, right?”

In that moment, Ghost realized that their words they spoke were the worst ones that they could have chosen.

“Ghost…,” Emilia slowly said, while her face went from a sad expression to one of seriousness, her eyebrows frowning. “You seem you don’t understand is…too valuable for me to lose it”

“Do you have money, right? You can buy another one or…” Ghost automatically said wishing to punch themselves for a stupid mistake.

“Are you mocking me…?” Emilia anger increased with every word she spoke. “That insignia…my future, my dreams, everything depends on it! You can say to me to _just buy another one_!”

“I…I…”Ghost realized that too late something fundamental about themselves. This was the first time the Vessel ever had a voice in their life, in their entire existence they only heard other people talk and occasionally used their hands to indicate things, places or even which thing they wanted to buy.

But to use arguments to convince an angry person, in a situation that Ghost couldn’t have ever predicted in their life, it was…it was…

It was too much.

“Ghost…I…I don’t hate you,” Emilia said while leaving a sigh, she was clearly emotionally tired. “But your stubbornness is going to hamper my goals…if you don’t want to go, fine, I will do it myself”

And with that, Emilia turned around, and went alone towards the lower districts.

Ghost was left there, alone, pathetic in their poor attempt in convincing someone else not to go into danger.

But they didn’t want to lose her, she was the only thing that connected them to this world. The person that cared for them in that alley as pain invaded them.

If she died…

They would be truly alone.

Then memories of their cursed birth came down like a torrent of horror.

The corpses falling, their struggle to go up, to escape.

And finally, the cruel realization that they were never meant to live in the first place.

Because they were imperfect.

**No cost too great**

They accepted their origins, they never denied that deep down, they weren’t normal, not even in their original world. But despite all, despite their long time as a lone wanderer, they experience many things.

But the most wonderful ones were when they shared a small but meaningful moment with someone else.

And to depart, to be alone, made Ghost feel a strange pain. Not from the body, but from the heart. In time, they learned that pain was named solicitude.

_“No…I can’t…death…I can deal with that somehow, but to be truly alone…”_

Ghost went towards the direction were Emilia was walking now in the middle of the crowd.

_“Is something I will never be able to deal with…”_

_“I must save her…I MUST”_

In that moment, a new determination grow in the Vessel, they ran towards her and grabbed the sleeve of her clothes.

“Emilia…I, we have to reconsider this carefully,” Ghost said as Emilia looked at them in complete surprise. “We have to plan things out and…”

“Ghost, what are doing?” Emilia said as the crowd stopped to see the sudden discussion that was happening around them. “Let me go now! I know what I must do!”

“Emilia, just…listen to me!” the Vessel shouted, as they didn’t care if they attracted unwanted attention. “If we asked someone else to help us…”

“No! We have wasted too much time to seek for help and…” Emilia began to said and suddenly stopped, as she tried to hold something that tried to say but couldn’t. “…and others could want the insignia themselves!”

“Then maybe we could…” Ghost had an idea in mind, something that suddenly appeared in their mind despite the chaotic situation.

But what they tried to say in that moment, they never could, because in that very moment, a sharp pain invaded in Ghost’s back. Something like a blade penetrated them from behind and stabbed their heart in surprise.

They heard the shrieking screams of the crowd and the agonizing cry of Emilia.

It was so fast, they never saw their murdered.

And then, they died for the third time, without even knowing their killer.

…

Ghost left a painful gasp as they returned from the same point as always. Emilia and the family were aback from this development.

“Ghost…?” Emilia asked slowly. “What…what’s wrong?”

Ghost didn’t answer and they simply ran away from there, leaving the four people there in total shock.

“GHOST!” It was the cry of Emilia as she tried to stop the Vessel in vain.

They ran. They ran, trying to escape from the invisible dangers of this world.

They didn’t understand, they didn’t do anything bad to the inhabitants of this world, and yet it seemed it tried to kill them at every opportunity.

They ran, they ran from their own fears and their own frustrations. It seemed that nothing changed despite their best efforts.

It wasn’t long until they got tired and went hiding of Emilia in another alley. But Ghost knew that she would find them sooner or later, and then, if that happened, they didn’t know what to do.

How pathetic really.

But it was also not Ghost’s fault that their usual strength wasn’t present, and neither their skills and powers. And for a strange reason not even their charms worked over them. It was something to do in coming into this world? A sort of price? Even so, the charms still worked perfectly fine with other people, so the problem was Ghost themselves.

And Elsa…she was a strong opponent, and quite intelligent and ruthless. If Ghost were to defeat her in any way...no, they needed help, help from someone else. If they couldn’t…Emilia, Felt, Rom and even the three thieves that ended become attached would die.

Ghost had to prevent this, if not…they would truly alone in this world.

If there was someone that Ghost could ask for help, it was the Royal Guards. The key was in them as Chin mentioned them as an important authority in the city. But there was a problem…

Ghost didn’t know any Royal Guard personally or even where they stationed. They were a foreigner in this place, for not saying this world. And even then, they felt that if they asked Emilia about getting help from the Royal Guards would only make her upset. They didn’t know why, but a certain part of their mind that didn’t recommend consulting Emilia in this aspect.

But also that same part of their mind also suggested something else. It wasn’t that person with red hair, Reinhard, a guard? Even thought he could seem to be a “simple” guard, he was the only one that Ghost knew well enough to ask for help.

They didn’t know if Reinhard would believe or trust them in this, but it was the only way to resolve this situation. But first, they had to go the streets and find him first.

And avoid whoever stab them the last time.

It was strange, as Ghost was becoming frightening familiar with the different sensations of pain and where to identify their origins to great accuracy. They knew too well how Elsa’s weapons felt like when cutting their flesh. But the last death wasn’t from her, or even Felt, as the thief while mischievous, she didn’t have the same sadistic disposition as Elsa.

However was this mysterious murderer, Ghost had to be careful in navigating the streets and to not call much attention like last time.

When Ghost walked in the streets, they rapidly spotted their objective, as Reinhard was helping someone else. Ghost waited until the red haired man finished his business, when it was clear that Reinhard was alone, Ghost finally came rapidly and called him.

“Reinhard!” Ghost said, without raising their voice too much. “I…I need some help…”

The guard opened his eyes in complete surprise.

“Ghost, I didn’t expect you to be here again,” he said. “Is…is there something wrong?”

Ghost looked at their sides and then indicated Reinhard with a hand towards the place they were hiding before.

“Come with me…I need to tell you something,” Ghost said and Reinhard put a serious expression on his face and nodded his head.

And so, Ghost tried to explain as best as possible about their and Emilia’s situation, as Reinhard listened silently. Of course, Ghost couldn’t say everything, as it would be extremely suspicious that they knew about Felt, Rom and Elsa. They simply said they feared that Emilia was being targeted that the warehouse was some sort of trap.

“Interesting…,” Reinhard remarked. “If this is true…then things are going to get far more complicated than before”

“Maybe…you could…get…some help?” Ghost said. “Maybe…the Royal Guard?”

“In other circumstances, calling the Royal Guards for something like a common robbery is not suitable for them but…” Reinhard began to ponder. “However this involves someone with the insignia…”

“Is that…insignia important?” Ghost finally asked. The meaning behind that object was unknown to Ghost and yet it seemed to be of great importance.

“Well…,” Reinhard began to say before leaving a sigh of frustration. “I can’t tell you specifically about what that insignia entails, but…I will try to help you as I can”

Ghost was relieved, while they were still in the darkness about many things, at least now there were some ray of hope.

“Get any…help you can…,” Ghost requested to Reinhard. “In the lower districts, later…and…one more thing”

“Yes?”

“Just…please…don’t let Emilia see you…,” Ghost said as they prepare to depart. “Just…I want her to be safe, that’s all”

“Is noble of you Ghost,” Reinhard said. “I wish you luck then”

“And you too…” Ghost said before joining the crowd.

While they were walking in the streets, Ghost began to form a strategy to deal with Elsa if help didn’t come on time. Of course, they couldn’t defeat her in a straight combat, but now Ghost had the upper hand in one aspect.

Knowledge was a powerful tool, and Ghost understood Elsa’s fighting style and her many tricks, as too the performance of everyone else in that situation. They didn’t know about Emilia’s or Reinhard capacities, but the Felt, Rom and the trio didn’t have a chance against Elsa, so their main priority was to put them in safety first and to hold Elsa until the guards came.

“Ghost!” it was the voice of someone familiar. “Ghost, you are here!”

Emilia came running towards the Vessel, as she panted heavily, clearly not accustomed to that kind of activity.

“You…you…you scared me a lot back there,” Emilia scolded Ghost. “You can’t just run away like that, you had me so worried and…”

“Emilia…,” Ghost said with a calming voice. “It was such…careless thing to do, but…I’m fine now”

Emilia looked at Ghost.

“Are you sure now?” Emilia asked. “I don’t want you to do something like that again”

“I’m…alright, “Ghost reassured Emilia. “I didn’t try to scare you…maybe we should go to the lower districts?”

“Eh…,” Emilia was a little taken aback from Ghost’s sudden resolution. “Alright, but…don’t do anything like that again, do you promise?”

“I promise…that I would not run away again,” Ghost said with a serious tone.

With that, they both went towards the lower district, and when they were on the very borders of it, Ghost stopped Emilia.

“Maybe I should go forwards from here…maybe I could make a deal…,” Ghost explained to Emilia.

“Are you sure?” she said with curiosity.

Ghost nodded and began to explain about the charms (or metia as they called here in this world) and how they valued. The conversation developed similarly like last time, although Ghost had a harder time to convince Emilia that they could go perfectly alone.

“Maybe you are right,” Emilia said with a sigh. “But please…come back safe”

Ghost nodded and walked towards the district.

Like last time, Ghost went towards the warehouse reviewing their plan. If everything went right, nobody should have to die in the confrontation.

But before they went halfway through their destination, they saw something unexpected. A little girl was already in there, resting from their constant running, someone familiar but in a situation that was unfamiliar to Ghost.

“You…?” they said unconsciously.

“Eh…?” Felt turned back and saw the Vessel, she blinked twice before she jumped back. “You!?”

Felt put a hand in her blade, ready to draw

“Wait! I’m not here to harm you!” Ghost said, raising their two hands in surrender. “I come to bargain!”

“What…?” Felt said, her hand still in her handle. “What do you mean by that?”

“Look…,” Ghost rapidly said, showing Felt their bag full of charms. “I have something that could interest you”

Felt tilted her head as Ghost explained about the many metia they had in disposition and ready to offer.

“But…I don’t know,” Felt pondered, know a little less hostile than before. “You came so suddenly like that…I don’t know if I could trust you”

“If we go to someone more…private, you could test them,” Ghost suggested.

“Well…the warehouse is close from here but…,” Felt looked at Ghost carefully. “Don’t try anything stupid”

“I won’t…,” Ghost said while they put their bag back in place. “You can trust me”

Felt didn’t say anything and simply walked together with Ghost.

“So…you live here?” Ghost asked, obviously knowing the answer.

“Of course I do!” Felt suddenly shouted. “If I could, I would be far away from here, I don’t plan to spent the rest of my life like this”

“Ah…your dreams I suppose?” Ghost asked. “You seem to be full of ambitions”

“Of course I do, everyone here talk and talk but don’t do anything to change their lives,” Felt ranted. “Today’s catch is something that will help me to accomplish my ambitions”

“Felt…you…you don’t have people that care about you?” Ghost asked.

“Well…there is someone else tho…an old man called Rom” she said. “He can be scary looking, but he is a good fella if you know him well…except if you make him actually angry”

Felt suddenly stopped, turning back and looking at Ghost.

“And you have someone else that cares about you?” Felt pondered. “You too seem to be a vagabond with those rags”

“Ah…I don’t have anybody like Rom,” Ghost confessed. “I…I don’t have a name…”

“Oh…,” Felt voice suddenly had a sad tone in it. “A little like me…”

Ghost tilted their head in curiosity.

“But, enough with sad stories!” Felt suddenly shouted, clearly not wanting to show weakness in front of the Vessel. “Even if I don’t have a name, old man Rem calls me Felt, and you?”

“Ah…just call me Ghost,” the Vessel simply said. “Nice to meet you”

“Ghost?” Felt said as she looked closely to the Vessels’ pale soft shell. “Appropriated…man, if you appeared in the middle of the night with that aspect and those weird horns you surely would have scare me to death”

“I…,” Ghost said as Felt resumed walking and they followed her too.” I’m not that scary looking”

When both arrived at the warehouse, Felt knocked the door and told the password. Ghost presented themselves to Rom and explained their offer to Felt after she presented the insignia.

“As such, if my stolen metia isn’t here…, I could take the insignia as compensation…,” Ghost finished their offering. “If your client doesn’t have enough money to buy it…I could exchange these three metia for it”

“That’s tempting…,” Felt began to say. “But I would have to wait first for my client to come”

“Indeed…” Ghost commented, trying not be too nervous. “If anything, you should have to try the metia first…”

In that moment, there was someone else knocking the door.

“Ah, it must be her,” Felt said as she went towards the door. “Sorry Rom if I didn’t told her the password”

“Is alright, but next time do it, alright?” Rom said as he prepared his club just in case. Ghost looked at the familiar weapon of the giant. “What, nothing to say?”

“No, just..,” Ghost left a sigh, ready to face Elsa. “You two seem to be close”

“Well…I knew Felt since she was a little,” Rom said as he was waiting for the new visitor to come inside “Despite that…”

There was a sudden torrent of multiple voices. Ghost and Rom put their eyes on the door frame of the warehouse, only to see not the client Felt was waiting for, but a trio Ghost didn’t expect to see at that moment.

“Why are you doing here!?” shouted Kan, pointing towards Ghost with an accusatory finger.

“I ask the same,” Ghost began to say as they walked towards the thieves. “This is not the…best time to be…here”

“What are you talking about?” Ton said as he drawn his short blade with his left hand. “Listen, if you want a rematch…!”

With a swift move, Ghost grabbed Ton’s left arm with enough to hold it still but without hurting him. Both Chin and Kan opened their eyes in surprise and prepared to defend their friend. Felt and Rom, frozen still from the strange scene happening in front of them, prepared their own weapons to fight.

“Listen, all of you!” Ghost shouted and left Ton’s arm as they saw as everyone else in the warehouse stopped after hearing the Vessels sudden scream. It was the first time Ghost ever shouted in anger and frustration. “I know…this is nonsensical but…the woman looking for the insignia…is going to kill us all!”

“What!?” Felt was the first to shout. “How…how do you know that?”

“Because I was…followed her movements for some time” another lie based on some truth was the only thing Ghost could explain about them.

“Are you…are you some sort of spy?” Rom raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

“That’s…that’s not important right now…the thing is, she tried to kill me too” Ghost invented another lie based on the mysterious killer from their last death. “I managed to escape and I followed her since”

“Yeah…well, tell me her name and her looks!” Felt shouted, trying to get some evidence from the Vessel. “If you don’t…!”

“Her name is Elsa, she wears provocative clothing, has black hair,” Ghost began to describe her. “And she always seems to be happy about something and her voice is like silk and honey combine”

“That’s…,” Felt was aback from Ghost’s description of her client. “Well, let’s say I trust you, but why are you warning us about this?”

“Yeah, the brat here is giving some good points, maybe **you** are half-lying and want to get some revenge from taking you metia or whatever!” ranted Kan as he pointed an accusatory finger to Ghost.

“You are reminding me of Zote,” Ghost sighed in disappointment.

“Who the hell is Zote!?” the small one of the trio asked in frustration.

“Long story,” it was the only thing the Vessel could say for now. “Listen…we must prepare ourselves and escape from here before she…”

In that moment, Chin suddenly turned his head back to see something.

“There…there is someone over there listening to us,” it was the only thing the leader of the trio said with a low tone of voice. “She is…just there, listening to us…and”

In that moment it seemed that the temperature in the room went cold. Ghost knew instantly without looking.

“She has black hair…” was the last thing Chin said before he pushed his two friends inside and panic invaded the warehouse.

“FELT, CLOSE THE DOOR!” Ghost shouted to the little girl as she was the closest to the door now and knew how to lock it.

“But…” the little girl hesitated.

“DO IT!”

The little girl ran towards the entrance to the warehouse and closed the door. In the moment before Felt did her move, the figure that was far away began to run.

“Get away from there!” Rom screamed as he grabbed Felt and pushed the little girl as something hit the door, the sound it provoked was undeniably of sharp metal cutting wood.

“My…this is a strange development,” it was the voice of Elsa, clearly trying to maintain her composure, but Ghost realized there was a certain hint of anger in her since the Vessel met her. “I came here with good intentions but it seems in these days you can trust people”

Everyone was holding their breath as Elsa hit the door twice, this time with more strength, the wood getting more damaged. With that Felt draw her sword as Rom wielded his big club, ready to strike and the trio went into a far corner of the building clearly scared from the woman.

“If you don’t want to suffer too much…” with another hit a hole appeared from the door, and Elsa’s face was visible through it. “I recommend you to stay still and…”

This time, the hinges of the door didn’t resist the final strike and the door finally broke, as Elsa went inside the warehouse.

“If I will!” Rom shouted as he tried to hit Elsa but she easily parried the heavy hit, but this time there was someone else helping him.

Ghost took advantage that Elsa was distracted and decided to attack her from the right, the woman easily parried their attack, but now she had to deal with two enemies at the same time.

“Well, I never fought a giant in my life…,” Elsa said as she danced between Rom and Ghost strikes. “And an exotic demi-human like you...I really hope you can compensate for the troubles you are giving me”

“Like I will!” Ghost screamed as they attacked in synchronization with Rom, managing to leave a small cut in the woman’s soft shell.

Felt didn’t join the fight as she feared it would handicap Rom and the Vessel’s opportunities against Elsa but she was clearly anxious as the fight developed. As for the trio, they did their best in avoiding the fight as much as possible, ready to flee at any moment. In fact, Ghost had an idea.

“Felt, you three too!” they screamed as they saved Rom from getting hurt. “You must go outside and ask for help!”

“But…,” Felt hesitated, her lips trembling.

“Do it!” Rom shouted as he covered Ghost from another attack from Elsa.

Felt simply nodded and went running, followed closely by the scared trio. Elsa frowned and moved her left hand to grab the other blade she was hiding. But Ghost prevented her from trying to harm the little girl.

The second blade was parried from another weapon, not the nail from Ghost or the club that the Giant was using. But it was something unexpected.

Ghost was holding a hook of trange desing from their left hand, as their right one holded their nail.

“You aren’t the only one here that can pull the same trick,” Ghost declared as Rom smugly smiled and Elsa, for the first time, showed clear anger from her face. Of course, Ghost too was surprised of themselves in using the Mantis Claw as a weapon and not a tool to climb, but they were thankfully that the prideful warrior tribe crafted something so resilient.

“You are quite the nuisance, isn’t it?” Elsa said as she jumped back and prepared herself to resume in battle. “Well then…that means I have to take this seriously!”

In that moment Elsa dashed against the two, clearly with intentions to end this battle with their deaths.

Ghost and Rom managed to hold Elsa in her first strikes, but her sudden showcase of her true strength and speed was already overwhelming them. Elsa kicked Rom in the head, making him fumble and fall over the ground but the Vessel saved the giant’s life as Elsa was about to strike him, but they realized it was a trap settled by the sadistic woman. But it was too late as she realized two swift moves with her blades.

Her right weapon moved towards Ghost’s abdomen while she prepared the left one to follow with another attack. Ghost managed to block the first one, but Elsa used this opportunity to strike with the left one, directly towards the Vessel’s head. The Vessel instinctively tried to block it but they realized an important weakness from the Mantis Claw as a weapon. While good for parrying attacks, when it was about blocking, it left much to be desired.

It was too small to just block something as Elsa’s blade and Ghost knew that its strength and length would overcome it and open their skull straight open.

But Rom managed to save Ghost at the last moment, putting between the knife and the Vessel. Ghost gasped as Elsa’s powerful strike managed to cut through the thick club and opened a serious wound on the Giant’s left shoulder.

Ghost pushed Elsa with a kick using all their strength. Rom was on his knees, clearly in pain.

“Are you alright?” Ghost asked as Elsa was preparing to attack. “You need to get out of here now!”

“As if I would run away,” Rom said while he forced a smile. “I want to protect Felt with my life and…to help you over there too”

And with that, the giant felt unconscious, bleeding over the floow.

“Rom…” it was the only thing Ghost could say, remembering Cloth as she died fighting against the Traitor Lord in a situation that was becoming too similar for the Vessel. She defeated the great Mantis while she sacrificed her life saving Ghost. But the Vessel didn’t want her to die, they didn’t want to everyone else to die for them, sacrificing their own lives.

In that moment, resolution came like wild fire inside of Ghost as they prepared to confront Elsa and protect Rom

“I will not let you die!” they declared loudly.

Elsa didn’t say anything as she ran towards Ghost. But in that moment, something fast came towards the woman and she was forced to dodge.

It was like crystal, it easily broke upon impacting the floor and from the direction it came, it was from the entrance to the warehouse.

“Ghost, I told not to get into trouble!”

“Emilia?” Ghost tilted her head. The white haired girl

“Seriously, Lia was worried about you,” It was the voice of the small spirit called Puck, as he smiled mischievously. “You are quite the naughty boy here, dancing with a beautiful woman without Lia’s permission”

“You…” Ghost couldn’t be angry against the spirit. “I mean, I told you it would get dangerous”

“Like if I was going to be standing there doing nothing for so long,” Emilia declared as she and Puck launched more projectiles towards Elsa, as the warehouse was getting colder and colder. The black haired girl blocked and dogged their attacks.

“I really hope you don’t get my daughter angrier,” Puck said as Emilia formed a white shield of strange formation from Ghost to block Elsa’s incoming attack and Puck launched more projectiles. “Hi there sweety, my name is Puck and I’m going to send you to the afterlife, hope you enjoy it!”

“A Spirit?” Elsa remarked as she dodged more attacks from the small creature. Elsa used her coat to block a particularly dangerous projectile and the cloth disappear with a flash of light. “At least I could still see a spirit’s guts at the end of the day after this while fiasco”

“Don’t be positive about that,” Puck mocked her. ”My guts aren’t that inserting and my schedule is a little demanding”

In that moment Puck launched two particularly big projectiles towards Elsa, forcing her to retreat towards the other end of the warehouse, far from Emilia and the others.

“Lia…,” Puck solely said as he began to disappear. “I hope you are safe and if something happens…I will avenge you”

“Don’t worry about it,” Emilia reassured to the spirit.

“Ghost…,” Puck said as he yawned, clearly tired. “Please, look after her”

The Vessel nodded as the spirit returned to the green crystal. Now it was only them and Elsa.

“Emilia, can you tend to Rom’s wounds?” Ghost said as they prepared their weapons. “I will hold her long enough”

Emilia simply nodded and went towards the giant, her hands shining white with energy and the wound was getting healed.

“So…you were with her from the beginning?” Elsa asked, her irritation clearly rising with every moment. “You are quite full of surprises”

“Indeed…” Ghost simply said.

With no more words to say, both Elsa and Ghost resumed their battles, this time the Vessel knowing the tactics Elsa employed. But the Ghost’s objective was not to defeat Elsa, but to wait for help.

As Elsa put more effort in the battle, Ghost tried to maintain her from coming close to Emilia as she was healing Rom. The big light wasn’t in the sky and darkness came over the warehouse.

After a few shared strikes, both fighters distanced from each other. Elsa looked at Ghost the same way a predator looked not over a defenceless prey but a rival. It was clear that the Vessel managed to irk the woman greatly, which made them glad.

“When I cut you down, I will enjoy every painful moment of your agony…,” Elsa promised towards Ghost as she prepared herself. “Do you have anything else to say?”

“Nothing…just that I’m getting tired of you,” Ghost said with clear venom in their voice.

“Hmm, at least we share something in common,” Elsa remarked and she launched towards the Vessel.

“Enough” it was the calm but powerful voice from someone outside the warehouse.

In that moment, something crashed through the rooftop and landed between Ghost and Elsa. Heavy dust lifted from the strength the crush and engulfed the warehouse.

When the dust settled, a single figure bathed in the white light from above was standing over. Ghost recognized the person by their red hair.

“Reinhard?” Ghost asked confused. “Where…where are the reinforcements?”

“Ah…,” the guard say as he looked over Ghost. “I apologize about that…there wasn’t much time and I had to follow Emilia, sorry about breaking our promise”

Both Emilia and Ghost were clearly surprised by this.

“You…you followed me?” Emilia said as she looked over the guard and then the Vessel. “Wait…you talked to Reinhard?”

“Sorry about that, I will explain later,” Ghost apologised to Emilia as she tended over the giant.

“And also a certain curious group asked for my help, which were the same people you described to me” Reinhard remarked, without breaking sigh of Elsa.

“I never saw them…,” Emilia said as she looked over the red haired young man. “I went to another route to the warehouse and never encountered them”

“Nothing to be ashamed off Lady Emilia,” Reinhard said.

“Reinhard Van Astrea…,” Elsa said, this time giving her typical sadistic smile. “From the line of Sword Masters, knight between knights…at least I could still get some satisfaction fighting such a legendary figure as you”

“Black hair, black clothes, “ Reinhard remarked. “And those weapons of unique desing from the north…you must be Elsa Granhiert”

“Ah…finally someone that recognizes me” the woman was clearly happy by the sound of her voice. “And you must clearly know what I’m called too…”

“Bowel Hunter, a dangerous figure even known in the capital…” Reinhard said. “I’m surprised that you were involved in about in these kinds of matters…who send you here?”

“Sorry about that, but I consider myself as a profession,” Elsa shrugged, clearly not interested in explaining her motives.

“So there is nothing more but to fight,” the red haired man said. “You can leave now if you want, your mission clearly failed here and there is nothing more than you can do here”

“You pretend me to deny of my prey?” Elsa mocked the knight. “Despite clearly being the greatest warrior in the country, you seem a little naïve in some aspects”

“I’m simply giving an opportunity to retire with dignity, that’s all…but,” Reinhard said as grabbed a sword from the floor. “Sorry if I couldn’t use my actual sword, as the circumstances here don’t allowed me to draw it”

“Reinhard…,” Ghost began to say. “Be careful”

“Don’t worry Ghost and…can I ask you a favour?” Reinhard asked.

“Yes?”

“Can you please go with Lady Emilia,” the knight pointed to Ghost. “Just in case”

The Vessel nodded and went to Emilia as she was healing Rom.

Then Reinhard prepared himself with the old abandoned sword, ready to fight Elsa.

“I hope this sword satisfy you,” the knight said.

“Yes…,” Elsa said, almost moaning of happiness. “Yes, more than perfect, at least I will get my fun!”

And with that Elsa showed her true strength. She was a shadow manoeuvring over the warehouse, her speed clearly befitting her grim nickname.

But even then, Reinhard was capable of parrying every one of her strikes easily. Ghost could only compare him with Sly in their mastery over similar type of weapons, sword and nail.

However, Ghost noticed that the Sword Master was only on the defensive, never attacking.

“What is he waiting for…” Ghost pondered. “He clearly has superior skill over her”

“Ghost, he is waiting for me to close the wounds of this person, “Emilia remarked. “If he were to strike her, the mana of in the atmosphere would be absorbed”

After a few moments, Emilia finally ended healing the giant. She left a sigh of relief as the giant began to breath.

“It is done.” She said.

“Reinhard, finish her!” Ghost shouted to the knight.

The knight nodded as suddenly a lot of energy began to accumulate around the sword. Ghost felt a strange sensation from their body, sensing the Soul being attracted by Reinhard. What kind of power was that?

“I hope you find your happiness here, because I will show the style of my family line” the knight said as he prepared to unleash the accumulated power in his sword. His opponent simply smiled and prepared herself too.

“Elsa Granhiert,” the woman declared. “Bowel Hunter”

“Reinhard Van Astrea, of the Sword Saint line” the knight responded.

There was a moment of silence...and then, both fighters went against each other.

There was a great light that engulfed Elsa and great part of the warehouse, Ghost and Emilia covered their eyes and the explosion that followed destroyed pretty much what’s left of the building.

And then like that, the fight was over and there was no trace of Elsa. Emilia was alive, as so Rom and everyone else.

The nightmare was over. But also many other questions were floating in Ghost’s mind.

“What…what was that?” Ghost asked to their ally. “Reinhard, what did you do…was a common combat technique in this country?”

“I have to disappoint you, but is not something that can be replicated by others,” Reinhard said with a sigh, like a way to apologize to Ghost. “I must confess, your sword…it distracted me for a moment”

“Ah…” Ghost was going to correct the knight that their weapon was a nail but they preferred to follow the ways of this world. “I had this weapon from all my life you know, I’m…quite sentimental to it”

“I see,” the knight said as he exanimated the weapon. “It’s craftsmanship is remarkable, I truly want to congratulate the blacksmith that forge it”

“More like reforged, the sword was a little dull when I visited him,” Ghost clarified. “But yes, he made a great job, but he already retired”

“Ah…a shame,” Reinhard said as he put a hand behind his head. “Some knights would have paid a lot to travel to whatever land you came to visit such a skilful person”

“Well…” Ghost was not going to explain about coming from another world so he changed subjects. “What about Felt?”

“What about me?” the little girl said from behind a broken column. And behind her were the scared trio of thieves. “And what happen to old man Rom?”

“He is fine, I healed his wounds” Emilia explained to her as the little girl left a gasp of surprise by her revelation. “Look…I know a lot of things happened lately and…”

“Oh…I see then,” Felt walked towards the white haired girl. “I…have to apologize about the inconvenience and wanted to give you…”

There was a subtle noise, something that was moving in a pile of rubble and Reinhard was about to scream but Ghost reacted first. Elsa came from her hiding speed, her objective clearly both Felt and Emilia, but the Vessel didn’t allowed her to came closer to the girls.

Ghost blocked the incoming attack and took advantage of Elsa not carrying her second weapon to deliver a wound with the Mantis Claws in the right part of her face. Elsa left a grunt of pain and managed to dodge Reinhard kick. She jumped towards the top of one of the broken columns.

“That was enough,” this time the tone from the knight was far more severe.

“Well then…I admit defeat here, but,” Elsa threw her weapon towards Ghost but they easily blocked it and the blade ricocheted to its owner, who grabbed it. “You young boy…I hope you are happy, because you made enemies with the Bowel Hunter”

“So, that means I will met you again?” the Vessel responded towards the threat. “Really…I’m not looking forwards to it”

Elsa left a sadistic laugh of mockery.

“If you want to be a little more polite…could you please gave me the name of the one who dared to interpose between me and my prey?” Elsa asked in fake polite tone.

“Ghost…just Ghost” the Vessel simply responded.

“Ah…perfect for someone of your appearance,” Elsa said. “I promise you, the next time we see each other…I will not be as compassionate as here”

With that, Elsa went running into the darkness and tranquillity finally returned to the warehouse…or what was left of it anyway.

“Is…is it over?” it was the nervous voice of Kan. “Is not like…the crazy bitch is going to return when we have our gaurds down?”

“Kan…please don’t jinx it,” Ton told to his friend. “We barely managed to survived this shit and you want to ruin it?”

“Hey, it was Chin’s idea to back here because of it wanted to…” Kan began to say before Chin gave him a sharp look that made him shut up. “Eh…sorry boss”

“If I have to guess…,” Emilia began to say as she looked over Felt. “You were to give my insignia?”

“I…yes!” Felt said as she handed the small object to Emilia. “I really hope you are careful next time”

“A strange thing to say, but I’m glad you gave that advice,” Emilia said with a small laugh.

The white haired girl was about to receive the small object , shining dimly in the darkness, when Reinhard saw something that made him took his attention completely.

“You…,” the knight said as he grabbed Felt’s hand. “What is the meaning of this?”

“What…let me go!” Felt struggled as she tried to get free from Reinhard without avail. Ghost, Emilia and the trio were completely taken aback from this development.

“Your name was Felt, right?” Reinhard said as he interrogated to the little girl. “Do you remember anything about your parents? Your age?”

“Hey, why the questions!?” Felt complained. “I don’t remember them, and I don’t know my own birthday…so maybe fifteen?”

“Is it is then,” Reinhard cryptically said. “If I’m being honest, strictly speaking I’m not actually on guard duty…but what is happening in front of me is not something I can ignore, you will have to come with me”

“What do you mean by that…!” Felt shouted before Reinhard extended his palm in front of her and Felt suddenly went unconscious.

“Hey…that’s not something a knight does,” Kan began to say with a nervous hint in his voice. “I mean, kidnapping a little girl and all”

“I have to admit with him in the subject matter,” Emilia agreed with the small thief. “That was not something typical of you”

“I understand and I apologize from my sudden behaviour,” the knight excused himself. “But this girl…is something important”

“Important…do you mean?” Emilia pondered before she realized something that Ghost didn’t understand. “Oh…I see”

“It seems a lot of things are happening since I came here,” Ghost admitted loudly. “And honestly, I have no idea what’s going on”

“Me too, honestly,” Kan said, stating obviously as the big mouth in the trio. “Does that mean…you will kidnap us too?”

The rest of the present in the warehouse looked at the small person with different levels of incredulity.

“Seriously Kan?” Chin drily said as he left a sigh of exasperation. “You really have to come up with the weirdest ideas”

“But everything is so bizarre man, like, the freaking Sword Master was friend with the pale weirdo,” Ken pointed towards Ghost.

“Who are you calling pale weirdo?” Ghost said to the smallest member of the trio. “Look, if is all over now…I would prefer to just have things done here”

“So…it seems that is all forgiven?” Chin said as he walked towards Ghost and handed something to the Vessel. “Here…I admit I’m not generally one giving back things I borrow”

“Quite the way to say to steal,” Ghost grabbed the lost charm, almost forgotten in the heat of battle. “But thanks anyway”

“I will have to thank you in saving our asses,” Chin said. “I hope that we don’t have to find ourselves in a similar situation”

“Man, what a weird day,” Ton said as he looked around the destroyed building. “I’m tired…”

“With that in mind, I would say that if we just withdraw and go back home?” Reinhard added as she lifted Felt easily with one hand and put her in her back.

Everyone nodded in agreement and Ghost put their nail on their back.

“Emilia,” Ghost began to say. “Can I ask you a favour?”

“What is?” the white haired girl asked.

“Can I…can I stay at your place?” it was the only thing Ghost said. “It would be only temporary stay and then I will move on…that’s all”

“Ah…,” Emilia said as she gave a sincere smile towards the Vessel. “There is no problem then…but promise me that you would not do anything rash”

“I promise,” Ghost said. “And also…I want to thank that appa vendor for the help”

“Maybe next time,” Emilia left a small laugh. “You truly are a curious person”

“Many have already told me that…but thanks anyway Emilia”

“Thank you Ghost…for helping me” the white haired girl said as the white light from above illuminated her.

 _“Ah…so this how it feels to have a happy ending?”_ Ghost pondered.

In that very moment, they felt their body getting very heavy.

“Hey…why…everything spinning?” the Vessel barely could say anything.

“Ghost…what’s wrong?” Emilia asked worried.

In that moment, Ghost body felt from tiredness but Emilia managed to grab them in time.

“Is he gonna be alright?” Chin asked. “Paley here doesn’t have any wounds in his body, so what’s wrong with him?”

“Maybe is just exhaustion…” Reinhard commented as he saw too the unconscious giant. “But I would prefer to have some medical attention together with the owner of this building.

“Is alright,” Emilia said as she began to use her healing abilities towards Ghost, who was barely conscious. “I can take care him from here…”

“Emilia…what is that…” Ghost pointed out something in the sky.

Everyone else looked above and saw a miniscule light that was travelling the sky with a high speed.

“That’s a shooting stat…” Emilia explained. “When you see one, you can ask for a wish to came true”

“A wish…” Ghost said. “I have…one”

“And what is it?” Emilia asked with curiosity.

“I…” but Ghost couldn’t finish their sentence as they felt, truly unconscious now.

…

“Well…that was anticlimactic,” Kan shrugged. “I wished for some cute girl falling in love with me”

“I want a nice house” Ton added.

“And I want some peace and quiet” Chin left a sigh as he was about to depart. “So…no hard feelings?

“I can overlook it,” Reinhard commented. “Don’t worry, you were nice to him in the end”

“Well, that’s because the Ghosty here saved us, that’s all,” Chin said. “Well then…people?”

“Yes boss?” both Kan and Ton asked in unison.

“Run like hell!” and with that the trio departed towards the night, clearly not wanting to see if anything else weird was going to happen.

Emilia laughed at the anticsts of the group and Reinhard left a sigh.

“I suppose thieves would be thieves, but I don’t blame them,” he said as he looked over the strange demi-human sleeping in Emilia’s arms. “So…you would take him to Roswaals’s mansion?”

“Yes…but I hope is more than a temporary guest,” Emilia hoped.

“Ah, it seems that you are worried about the boy, isn’t?”

“Well, he seems to get in trouble easily and has some strange behaviour but…,” Emilia said as she caressed Ghost’s hair. “He has a good heart, I can feel it”

“I see…,” Reinhard remarked as he watched again over the night sky. “Maybe this is the last time we will see the moon in peace”

With that, Ghost’s first night of many in that world ended. But much more was to come to them.

And the shooting star, it entered into the world’s atmosphere, travelled the night sky, went over the capital into the countryside.

It travelled, travelled into the properties of an eccentric lord. In his mansion, only a little girl with blonde hair waiting for the return of a certain spirit looked at the shooting star through one of the many windows of the place and saw the small light land into the deep forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...this is the end of the first part of the story so far. I can only say that the events from the chapter will have major repercussions from this point on as it obviouisly was different from what happen in Re:Zero in a few aspects. And that strange shooting star...well, let's say is surprise for the next arc. I hope you enjoy this story that I came up with until now. See you later!


	5. Interlude 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the incident in the warehouse, various people experience the results and consequences. And a new seed of will be planted, a seed that will bring unforeseen consequences.

**A Ghost’s arrival**

The Earth Dragon carriage crossed the dirt road towards the mansion of lord Roswaal. It was already long past midnight and the conductor of the carriage, despite her generally cold and stoic disposition towards most people, had an enormous curiosity about the strange person lady Emilia brought with her after her “excursion” in the capital.

 _“Definitely not an Oni, that’s for sure”_ Ram pondered as she saw the distant lights from the mansion. _“And not any sort of demi-human I ever knew, a half like Emilia? Or…something else?”_

She was definitely tempted to ask more details on what happen during that time, as the only thing lady Emilia said was that the person named Ghost helped her recover the insignia and even saving the lives of many from a sadistic woman called Elsa.

Ram heard some rumours about the so called Bowel Hunter, but to somehow being involve in the Royal Selection (which didn’t even officially began) was more than worrying. The maid wasn’t one too interested in political affairs and the inner workings of the kingdom. The most important things for her were two things, her sister and lord Roswaal.

When the carriage was finally in the gardens, Ram saw familiar figures waiting for her in the entrance of the mansion. Her sister and Roswaal were there, but even Beatrice, the aloof spirit was sitting in the one of the steps, which was a rare sight in the mansion as she barely was outside of the library.

“Lady Emilia, sister, are you alright?” Rem was the first one to talk, walking towards the carriage. “Roswaal said that you were

“Lady Emilia is fine, but there was…” Ram explained as she went off the conductor chair and opened the door to reveal the half-elf and someone else sleeping in with a blanket covering them. “Certain inconveniences”

“What is that thing?” Beatrice said with a rude tone when she saw the unexpected newcomer while Roswaal didn’t comment and simply watched the events unfold.

“A stray Lady Emilia adopted on her way in the capital,” Ram explained.

“Ram, don’t be so rude,” Emilia said as she put a finger in her lips. “He is sleeping…it has been a long day for us, you know?”

“Forgive me Lady Emilia,” Ram said as Rem went towards the interior of the carriage. “Dear sister, I need your help to carry our new guest”

“Yes dear sister, I will help…” Rem stopped talking as she saw at the sleeping person with better detail. “Ram…he…he has horns”

“Weeell, that’s quite interesting indeed,” Roswaal finally talked. “Can I have a look at him?”

“Yes, Lord Roswaal,” both sisters responded in unison as they both carried the sleeping guest. When both Beatrice and the owner of the manor saw them with better light, their eyes opened in complete surprise.

The person in front of them had a surprising skin tone, white as bleached bone, whit white hair and a couple of horns in their head, of the same colour too, their face and body proportions corresponded to a person of eighteen years of life, although their skin was very soft and delicate. Their chest raised slowly as they slept profoundly despite the resent movement of people and voices.

“That’s…,” Beatrice was a little loss of words while Roswaal was about to touch the sleeping person’s face with his left hand but decided not at the last moment to and retired it. “No, it can’t be possible…”

“Is…there something wrong?” Emilia asked while Ram and Rem tilted their heads with curiosity.

“Lady Emilia…where did you find him?” the owner of the manor said with a serious tone in his voice.

“Eh…the first time I saw him was in an alley on the capital,” Emilia quickly explained. “The poor thing was in pain, and they had their stuff stolen from him”

“And what about you?” Beatrice asked as her eyes did not look away from the face of the sleeping person. “Is that the reason you took so long?”

“Well…I had my insignia stolen,” Emilia said as Ram left a gasp of surprise and Beatrice raised an eyebrow. But Roswaal didn’t say anything at first.

“Sister of mine, it wasn’t your responsibility to escort Lady Emilia?” Rem asked.

“Yes, it was my fault that I didn’t watch over her, forgive me Lord Roswaal” Ram bowed to the owner of the manor.

“Is…is not something to worry about anymore,” Emilia said as she showcased the insignia. “He helped me to recover it”

“Ah…, he is quite helpful then,” Roswaal commented.

“And had to fight someone named Elsa,” Emilia said with lower tone of voice this time.

“Elsa, do you mean…?” Rem asked slowly. “Elsa the Bowel Hunter?”

“Yes indeed, as Lady Emilia gave me an accurate description of the woman in question,” Ram explained.

The owner of the manor waited a few seconds to process the answer before he snapped his fingers.

“Quite an astounding aaaaaact for his part,” Roswaal said with a satisfactory smile. “Not many would dare to even encounter such an infamoussss figure like her, much less to fight her to the death”

“Well…he had received help from Reinhard, it seemed that they had met before,” Emilia added.

“This young boy is quite the intriguing thing,” Roswaal said as touched with the tip of his finger one of the horns in the sleeping person. “I can’t sense mana being absorbed in these horns…definitely not an Oni”

“Not an Oni at all…” Rem murmured.

“Hmm, disappointed?” Roswaal asked while giving the blue haired maid a casual look.

“A little,” Rem sighed as she touched the strange cloak the sleeping person was wearing. 

“The consistency of this cloak…,” Rem commented as she exanimated the cloak. “Unusual, and has…a strange sensation upon touch, although the rest of his clothes seems to be normal”

“Yes my sister,” Ram commented. “Our guest had a lot of strange things carrying with him despite their apparent poor aspect”

“We had to put his stuff back in a bag,” Emilia said pointing the carriage. “And also, his name is Ghost”

“Ghost…?” Roswaal pondered before giving a small chuckle. “Ah, quite the appropriate name”

“Didn’t he carry anything dangerous?” Beatrice said as she looked at the carriage. “You should be more precarious”

“Only a sword,” Ram pointed out. “Although there was a bug full of metia that our new guest carried over and other stuff, maybe Lord Roswaal should make an inspection”

“Of course my dear maid, as the owner of his manor I haveeeeee to make sure those under my wing are safe and welllll” Roswaal said as Rem grabbed the bag with ease and put it respectfully near the great magician.

“Let’s see…” Roswaal casually commented as he grabbed the strange sword. It was of a material he didn’t recognize and the pattern and craftsmanship of the weapon were clearly of great quality even for people that weren’t expecting in the subject matter. “Ah, I understand why our unexpected guest had confidence in dealing with someone like Elsa”

The owner of the mansion gave the sword to Ram who hold it the weapon. Then Roswaal grabbed the bag of metia and began touching them one for one.

“Intersting…even I, the court magician of Lugnica, can’t recognizeeeee these interesting metia,” Roswaal looked upon two particular metia it had the form of a strange green face and black face of a insectoid creature, although it had lips and some sort of intelligence or at least, or something similar. One of these two had silver wings and it showcased its full body, having multiple arms or legs. “And these are quite cuteeeee”

“He also had this,” Emilia put a strange object to Roswaal’s hand, some sort of handle or wilt from a weapon. However, rather than a blade, at its end there was a circular object made of a crystal with an intriguing pattern.

“Hmm…,” Roswaal pondered for a moment as he touched the object. “It lost its power…what a shameeee of our guest”

“Eh? Seriously?” Emilia tilted her head. “I mean…he never showed how it did it work, maybe it needs repair?”

“It seems he like to collect junk,” Beatrice said as she grabbed some sort of stone. “And I can’t read this, it is some sort of foreign language and its inscriptions are weird”

“And also this lantern,” Roswaal said as he looked upon the small creature providing the source of light. “Hi there litleee one, I’m Roswaal, nice to meet youuuuu”

“We should put all of them in a room apart from him, just in case,” Ram commented. “Even if they were helpful to you, that doesn’t mean we will just totally accept a stranger easily”

“Ram, I…I understand your concerns, but isn’t too much to take their stuff like that?” Emilia argued. “He isn’t some sort of intruder or vulgar thief”

“Even though he helped you, is still important to remember that you are one of the chosen candidates for being the potential ruler of this country,” Roswaal clarified, this time without his more theatrical tone of voice, which for Emilia and everyone else in the mansion indicated that he was being more serious.

“I…,” Emilia stutter a little before she sighed. “Is alright, but please can you take a look at him? He spent the majority of the time only sleeping”

“Is he sick or wounded?” Beatrice asked.

“No…I mean, I treated him a little and doesn’t seem to have anything wrong with him” Emilia clarified.

“Maybe we should have to do a…deeper inspection” Roswaal said.

Beatrice sighed after hearing these words while Emilia looked at both with curiosity.

“Do you mean that…?” Emilia began ask before she was interrupted.

“We have to take him to the one of the rooms for guests and have to do a lot of work…” Beatrice said as she began to walk into the interior of the mansion. “And honestly I only woke up to see if Bu…I mean Puck was safe and well”

“He is,” Emilia clarified.

“Good, at least that will comfort me enough to go through this nuance…I suppose,” Beatrice sighed.

When everyone was inside, the group was divided into two and went into different directions. Emilia was the one who decided where to put Ghost’s belongings as Ram, Beatrice and Roswaal carried the sleeping person into one of the fancier rooms rather than one of the rooms reserved for servants.

When they put Ghost in the bed, the three persons in the room looked at each other. It seemed that they couldn’t decide in something.

“Roswaal, if you think I’m going to undress him, you are out of your mind…more than usual,” Beatrice commented.

“I didn’t saaaaaaaay anything,” Roswaal raised his hands in mock surrender. “I supposeeee that I have to do it”

Beatrice suppressed an expression of utter disgust.

“If Lord Roswaal doesn’t mind, I will have to do it,” Ram finally said as she sighed. While she was devoted to the court magician, she didn’t enjoy touching someone else apart from her sister or him.

“You don’t have to bother with that, Ram” Roswaal said with a soft tone. “If you are toubled by that, I could ask your sister do it”

“You are generous Lord Roswaal, but it would be irresponsibly of me to put such a burden upon my hard working sister,” Ram commented as she walked towards Ghost.

“Always so diligence, despite your particular conditions,” Roswaal praised the pink haired maid while Beatrice yawned, clearly not interested at all.

“Hmm…,” Ram hummed as she tried to take off the dark blue cloak. “Strange…it seems that it is attached strongly to his body and…auch!”

Ram suddenly gave a small yelp of pain as her hands went apart from his body. There was a small cut in one of the fingers of her left hand.

Roswaal rapidly but softly grabbed the wounded hand while Ram blushed profoundly.

“Let me see…,” he said as he inspected. “Hmm, nothing out of the ordinary”

“The cloak…its like…it bite me,” Ram stuttered, not because of the pain, but of the close proximity of the owner of the manor, then there was a brilliant blue light coming from the magician right hand and the wound was closed.

“I have to watch that too,” Beatrice said with a clear exasperated tone while she grabbed the maid’s left hand. “Nothing wrong…it seems he wasn’t a shaman, I suppose”

“Did you suspect a curseeeeee?” Roswaal asked. “You are being considated, knowing I’m not good in detecting them”

“Although that cape is a little suspicious,” Beatrice said as she touched the piece of cloth. Suddenly, her eyes opened in surprise. “That’s…strange”

“What is it?” Roswaal asked with curiosity.

“This cloak…is a metia, or at least it seems so,” Beatrice said as her hands inspected it. “And…there is a strong concentration of Yin magic in it”

“Yin magic?” Ram asked while Roswaal inspected the cloak too.

“Indeed…,” the court magician said while he pondered profoundly. “I don’t understand how this metia works while our guest is still so profoundly asleep”

“And the rest of his clothes seems to be normal,” Beatrice said as she inspected the black shirt and troucers, but didn’t touched the dark boots.

“It seems that we can’t take off the cloak without using a lot of brute force,” Roswaal said. “At least you can’t take off the rest of his clothes”

Ram nodded and began to undress Ghost, first she unbuttoned the shirt and took off both the trousers and the boots, revealing their naked body. What they saw took the three in complete surprise.

“Well…that’s complicate things a little bit, I suppose,” Beatrice said as she put a hand in the pale skin like bleached bone. “There are not wounds like Emilia said, but…there is something strange about…him”

“And what…is this?” Ram asked.

“He shouldn’t be alive at all,” Roswaal commented. “Lady Emilia said he fought Elsa despite clearly not in their best conditions”

“He shoudn’t have walked all day with her, much less have a fight to the death” Beatrice said. “I don’t know about his particular circumstances, but he is definitely not…normal”

“Not a spirit, that’s for sure,” Roswaal pondered. “But still, he still had a great resistance to pain despite their body being in that…particular condition”

The two looked in silence while Ram put a robe to Ghost, trying carefully to not to touch the cloak. When the maid finished her task, there was the sound of someone knocking the door.

“You can pass, Lady Emilia,” Ram said.

The door opened as the white haired girl and the other maid entered the room.

“Dear sister, the cloak of this person cut one of my fingers,” Rem said.

“Dear sister, it seems our guest is quite rude,” Ram added while she looked at Ghost with hostility.

“Ram, Rem…please don’t insult our guest while he is sleeping,” Emilia said.

“Forgive us, Lady Emilia,” Ram and Rem said in unison as they bowed politely.

“So…how is it going?” Emilia asked with curiosity.

“This person needs a lot of rest, “ Beatrice commented. “And an expert in medicine”

“Is…is something wrong with him?” Emilia asked with a worried tone.

“Not something, but…” Roswaal said. “But this person called Ghost…he is quite durable, despite having such a weakened body”

“Weakened?” Emilia asked.

“Is the only way I can describe it,” Beatrice said. “His muscles are quite atrophied, or even I dare to say that it seems he never used them in the first place”

“Which it doesn’t make sense at all,” Roswaal pondered. “For someone to simply fight an opponent like Elsa should have quite the training and experience”

“The only explanation to this is either…,” Beatrice said as she raised a single finger in her right hand. “That somehow was incredibly lucky or…”

“Or…?” Emilia asked.

“That somehow he was so badly wounded before you found him that the person that saved them had to reconstruct almost his entire body from scratch” Beatrice said.

“But…but to do that one should be to have a great amount of skill in magic,” Emilia said with clear awe in her voice. “And despite being in such a condition, he managed to have enough strength to fight Elsa”

“That means his full potential was quite limited,” Roswaal commented. “I’m quite curious to see if there any more to him that it seems”

“Well...if that so,” Emilia said. “Beatrice, can you look after him?”

“I was dreading this outcome,” Beatrice said with clear annoyance in her voice. “But that’s how things are, I suppose”

Roswaal left a small chuckle as he went outside, followed closely by the twins.

“Beatrice…please take care of him,” Emilia said while she went outside.

The little girl sighed as she took a chair and sit in there, while she resumed the book she was reading.

 _“I really hope you are more than you are at first glance”_ Beatrice thought _“After all…you have her face…the face of my mother”_

…

**A Bowel Hunter’s retribution**

Elsa didn’t have a great day, in fact, it had been a long time since she was angry about something. Generally she enjoyed the trill of unexpected preys and deadly battles, but that pale brat ruined everything.

She was now resting in one of the rooms of the inn of the capital. She had to pay a lot of money to bribe the owner and many of the guards of the zone, it also helped that her figure and seduction skill facilitated certain people to not warn the authorities about her presence.

But now she had to move out to another place to hide, as the Sword Saint was aware of her presence and soon enough the Royal Guard would be after her.

“It seems my employer betrayed me…” Elsa pondered with a low tone of voice. “Either he changed his opinions in the last moment or…it was a plan all along to kill me, and get rid of a potential danger for the Royal Candidate”

The woman looked at the mirror, while her face used to be immaculate and beautiful, there was the wound that pale young man with white horns made on her. A bandage covered it now, and Elsa had to give some sacred gold coins her employer gave so that the owner of the inn didn’t ask any questions.

Now the Bowel Hunter planned her revenge, a revenge in which she unfortunately couldn’t participate directly. She needed the help of her partner, someone that had the particular set of skills necessary for the job.

Yes indeed…someone with her capabilities would be perfect to infiltrate into the territories of her target and cause havoc. But she would have to use more force than usual for this, but Elsa didn’t care, as she trusted her with that mission.

The Bowel Hunter smiled with pure sadism as she imagined the suffering that person called Ghost would suffer.

She couldn’t wait for the news of his eventual death.

…

**Dreadful Dreams**

The last days were nothing but a maelstrom for him. A few weeks ago he had these strange dreams, dreams about someone. Looking at the mirror, there were dark bags in his eyes and his blond hair was dirty and unkempt, a result of his strange visions.

Of course, at first he attributed to his excessive drinking. After a long day of working in construction there was nothing better but to drink beer with some co-workers, although he was the one who drank the most of their group.

The first dream was about light, he didn’t know of which kind, but there was light first.

And then, after that, a voice whispered in his ear. He couldn’t understand well.

The second dream was the same, except the light was dimmer and the voice more clear, but he could only understood one word

**“…child…”**

The third dream was different, he was in a strange dark cave in a place he didn’t know. There were strange creatures that resembled insects, but much bigger and they didn’t look like any insect he did know.

The fourth dream was about a vast plain illuminated by lanterns, and then, he saw the child.

They were pale, very pale, with two horns and white hair. And their eyes were dark, and his face didn’t show any apparent emotion.

In the fifth dream the light appeared again, but he couldn’t discern its colour. Its voice resonated again.

**“The…child…must…”**

In the sixth dream…by the dragon, he didn’t want to remember that one, but he would never forget what he saw.

He was standing there, in a metal platform, looking some sort of bottomless dark pit. And from the pit came a horrible sound.

The seventh dream was the one that made him wake up screaming, because in that dream he undoubted saw the Witch of Envy.

Her face was like her mother told him but he couldn’t ever imagine seeing her so vividly. At first it was just a figure giving her back. He wanted to run, but couldn’t.

And then the figure, slowly, but surely, began to turn back.

He could feel his tears of fear across his face as the Witch that destroyed half of the world looked back at him and _smiled._

The eighth dream was again the child, but now they somehow had grown in size, looking more like a young adult. And the Witch was there too…and both seemed to get closer and closer until they embraced each other.

The ninth and final dream was nothing but chaos…

Death, screams, fire, destruction, desolation. Monsters and beast that he recognized from the old stories and others even unknown to him.

Then he saw the corpse of the dragon, and a monstrous figure standing over him and also the Witch who rode in their horrible head, accompanied by their children of indescribable aspect.

And with that, there was only darkness.

Only the voice of the light remained.

**“The…child…the pale child must be stopped…if you want to prevent this outcome”**

And with that, he began to question his own sanity and if everything wasn’t the result of stress and lack of relaxation…until one day he saw them, the person that was the key figure of his dreadful dreams.

The pale child

In the middle of the street…just like that, casually walking among the people of Lugnica, without understanding it, there was there, the one that would cause their demise.

He grabbed the pale child from behind, screamed at them about their nature, until Reinhard himself, the Sword Saint, stopped him.

Then he ran away, and tried to forget about everything by drinking some more in some cheap inn.

Until that happened.

He felt the air stop, like if the world itself had stop and then he saw some dark cloud over the sky. After a few seconds, time regained its flow and he could move again.

And he knew he had to act fast.

He stole discreetly a knife from the inn and ran as fast as he could. When he saw the pale child (although they didn’t look like the child of his dreams but rather the figure that embraced the Witch) he acted by instinct and stabbed them in the back.

And then he was again in the inn.

At first he thought that it was a strange dream like before, but he remembered the sensation of his hands holding the knife and sinking its blade upon the body of his target.

And then the screams, the screams like those of his dreams.

He was now in an alley, crying of regret. Even if for some reason it seemed that it didn’t truly happen, a part of his head knew that he truly killed a defenceless person.

Why? Why did he had to do something like that? In the end, they didn’t seem to do anything bad or wrong?

But the dreams…no, the nightmares still persisted in his mind, like a constant reminder that that strange pale person was the one that would bring up the end of the world.

And then the voiced spoke for the first time when he was still awaked.

**“The pale one has support from the Witch…as such, even if you can kill them…you can’t stop them in that way…”**

_“Then what do you want me to do? What I can do for these horrible nightmatres to stop?”_ he thought at first.

And then the voice responded for the first time.

**“There is still a way…but you must preserve and plan carefully, if you don’t…everything you know and love will be nothing but ashes…”**

He wiped the tears from his face and regained his composure.

It seemed that his life now became far more complicated than he ever thought.

The only thing he wished now it wasn’t a stable home and wife to form a family with.

The only thing it mattered to him is to the dreadful dreams, the horrible nightmares to end.

**A Stranger under the stars**

From wonder to tragedy, to sadness to awe, he experienced all those things, but to see these little white lights above was something he never experienced before.

However he had a duty to do, even in this strange place. He understood there would be many dangers and obstacles on his way, but he still had some life in his body to continue.

He prepared himself and walked under the while lights and the big silver light that illuminated the sky.


End file.
